


Hang the Stars

by Voleyn



Series: Moonlit Tides [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Eren Yeager, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Bathing/Washing, Blow Jobs, Bottom Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Domestic Fluff, Dry Humping, Face-Fucking, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Eren Yeager, Fairy Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), First Time, Fluff, Height Differences, Human Eren Yeager, Humor, I'm not sorry about this at all, Inspired by FernGully, Inspired by The Dragon Prince (Cartoon), Knotting, M/M, Magic, Mating Bites, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multiple Orgasms, Omega Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Praise Kink, Protective Eren Yeager, Rimming, Romance, Scent Marking, Smut, Soulmates, Telepathic Bond, Top Eren Yeager, Wing Grooming, Wings, Worldbuilding, also a bit of that thing where the stomach bulges, but like in a good way, kind of?, oh lord this is a mess, these are fucking long chapters sorry my dudes, they're literally so soft for each other, this is not the micro/macro porn you're looking for tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:40:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 160,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28747836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voleyn/pseuds/Voleyn
Summary: Eren Jaeger had long grown bored of his life of comfort as a doctor’s son in England, soon to take up the mantle of running his father’s clinic with his father's retirement rapidly approaching. When he heard about the discovery of a new, unexplored land and an expedition that had need of medics, his adventurous soul flared to life and he left behind everything he knew with barely a backwards glance to forge through new and untested territory.Levi is an omega masquerading as a beta among the sprite community he and his makeshift family settled into after tragedy struck their old home. Though he lived openly as an omega among his forward-thinking kin for most of his life, he had no desire to be pushed into a role he had no desire to fill at their new home if he revealed his true dynamic. With Isabel and Farlan’s help, they adjust and can even call themselves content, except for the inexplicable itch of wanderlust that has recently been calling to him.Their discovery of one another, a split-second decision and an odd twist of fate result in their lives being changed and entangled in ways neither of them had ever anticipated.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Series: Moonlit Tides [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160957
Comments: 91
Kudos: 353





	1. The pale light waxes bright tonight; We turn our faces to the silver moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’ll have to get used to it and get over it, because you’re going to have to absorb a lot of information in a short amount of time.”
> 
> “Why?” Eren asked once he’d finished.
> 
> Levi looked him dead in the eye and rested the fingertips of his other hand over the top of Eren's. Small, sharp claws slid out to sheathe over flat nails and Eren looked down, eyes widening as it really, really struck him. Despite the size difference, their hands looked remarkably similar; black marks etched into their skin, fingertips tinged with color and claws dangling from them.
> 
> Eren swallowed heavily, unable to look away from those gleaming silver eyes as Levi flatly said, “Congratulations, Eren. Due to some major cosmic fuckery, you’re now one of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back from the depths of the trash heap, and this time, it’s fuckin fairies, man. What possessed me to write this? 
> 
> Well, it’s the result of a watching FernGully for the first time in 15 years along with The Dragon Prince while doped up on a copious amount of codeine because I was out of my fucking mind delirious with a fever, caffeine to keep me awake and fight off the effects of codeine and absolute balls-to-the-wall, sheer fucking force of will to sit down and write this. _Fuck_ yea.
> 
> On a more serious note… I mostly wrote this because, besides having Corona back in November and being sick with that for nearly an entire fucking month, I got it again and spent the last month in the hospital. Seriously, what the fuck. Once I got out, I got the monster of all flus (see aforementioned fever) and you know what, I just wanted to do something nice for myself. 
> 
> It's like 70% written so updates should be fairly fast. If you've read Moonstruck, you know what's coming in later chapters, so buckle up, kiddos.

It wasn’t that Levi was bored, per se, just restless. The forest that he and the other sprites made their home in was seemingly endless and there were always places to be explored and things to be done.

It was just…

Levi couldn’t put a name to it, but for the past few days, a bone-deep ache, a peculiar restlessness had overtaken him and he couldn’t stay within their community for one minute longer without wanting to snap at someone and sink his fangs and claws in deep. Something within him called out for him to fly and explore, and he was helpless in the face of its strength.

Even if it meant his makeshift family of Isabel and Farlan had to tag along as well.

It was dark out when Levi placed a foot on the edge of the wooden hollow he called home, but it made no difference to him.

He and the other two were different from the other sprites of this community, hailing from the deeper, darker parts of the woods. They’d come from a community of Moonglow sprites and been welcomed with open, if somewhat surprised arms. Though they were part of this community, they would never truly fit in.

Compared to the bright, sun-kissed colors the Sunlight sprites boasted in both their skin and wings, Levi and his companions were pale and dark, the luminescent, glowing colors of their wings unable to be fully seen unless under the cover of night and the pale light of the moon. Quiet and somewhat withdrawn, there were too many differences between them and their sun-attuned kin to truly be accepted, and while it stung somewhat, Levi refused to allow it to faze him.

And so it was without a single glance back at his hollow that Levi pushed away and took off into the darkness, eyes taking on a silvery glow as his night vision activated. It was more natural for him anyway; the ceaseless light of the sun only served to hurt his sensitive eyes and give him a headache.

Slipping and twisting silently through the branches and passing other hollows that held sleeping occupants, he alighted silently onto a thin branch and stalked up to a hollow that was further away from the rest. He rapped his knuckles lightly against the wood, keeping a careful watch for any Scout patrols.

Just because Sunlight sprites slept at night didn’t mean they were any less vigilant. Having been a high-ranking member in his old community’s Scouts and now a lower one here, Levi knew how seriously they took the safety and well-being of all the sprites in the community.

They knew the three of them regularly took off in the darkness, but if they were caught, they’d be herded gently back and asked not to travel around or stray at night unless they were assigned patrol.

“Farlan, Isabel,” he called in a low voice. “Let’s go.”

Instantly, two pairs of illuminated eyes blinked out at him; one a pale blue, and the other a limpid green. Both had the silvery sheen his did, their night vision activating as they were roused from light slumber.

“Is everyone asleep?” Farlan asked as he crept out onto the branch Levi was perched upon, shaking his dark wings out as he did so. A soft luminescence shimmered to life on their expanse, highlighting the sapphire blue veins and borders. The pale blue of his eyes looked even more so against the bold black lines of his facial markings. They were three thin triangles; one dipped from his hairline to the middle of his forehead while the other two slashed across his cheekbones, the thin tip of each stopping a bit before the inner corner of his eyes. 

“It’s the middle of the night,” Levi snorted derisively, turning away. “Of course they are. Night’s too much for their weak eyes to handle.”

Almost as silently as Levi, Isabel crept out, the red hues of her black wings slowly boldened, a broad smile overtaking her pale face at the sight of the darkness awaiting them. Her markings were much more subtle; three small triangles of increasing size situated just below her eyes, angling out towards the edges of her face.

“Finally,” she sighed. “The sun’s been hurting my eyes so much! Look! I even have sunburn!” she exclaimed, turning around and showing the pinkened skin of her shoulders.

Clicking his tongue, Levi stepped forwards and brushed his fingers over the burnt skin, making Isabel flinch. “I told you to keep to the shade, but of course you don’t listen,” Levi muttered. “Should let you just deal with it on your own.”

“That’s so mean, even for you!” Isabel exclaimed. Levi shot her a glare at the loudness of her voice.

“Do you want to wake the entire community, idiot?” he hissed, even as he called upon his magic, focusing on his connection to the earth to channel its renewing properties.

It tingled upon his fingertips, making them glow a pale, muted white. He traced them softly over Isabel’s burnt, reddened skin, healing and soothing as they skimmed over the afflicted areas. She sighed in relief as the rosy hue and burning faded, skin repairing itself until it was the pale, luminous white of their kind once more.

As he did so, the black markings on the skin of his body and face lit up to match his fingertips, and a soft, sweet smell rose up to their noses. Levi scowled as he let the magic fade away. The glow extinguished itself, but the scent remained heavy in the air.

“Fuck, Levi,” Farlan muttered, shaking his head and reaching up to rub at his nose. “Every time you do that, we have to mark you again.”

“I know,” Levi bit out, narrowing his eyes even as Farlan stepped forwards. He made no move to resist as Farlan took hold of his wrists and brought them up to his neck, smoothing pheromone and scent-laced oils over his skin in a near-clinical manner. Isabel followed suit, coming up to rub the oils from the glands in her wrists hastily and in a practiced manner across the skin of his arms.

It was an annoying ritual, but one they had to practice to keep his omega scent masked.

Omegas were uncommon and highly regarded in all sprite communities, yet Levi’s cautious nature meant he didn’t trust these sprites enough to let his dynamic be known. Instead, he masked it by drinking a tea that suppressed his nature and scent, though it took much of his sense of smell and instincts away as well. While that was usually enough, the use of his magic always brought his scent back, as the type of magic he used could only be harnessed by those of his dynamic.

Farlan and Isabel, as an alpha and beta, were his last line of defense. By covering up Levi’s unique scent, no one was able to tell the truth of Levi’s secondary gender; most in the community thought he was a beta and if one caught Farlan’s scent on him, they passed it off as the three of them being extremely close.

Being meticulous about his tea and only using magic in the dead of night so he could immediately wash away his scent and be marked afterwards had fooled the Rose community for the few years the trio had called it home. For that, Levi was grateful.

As Farlan finished marking him, Isabel leaned closer and gave him a tentative sniff before giving him a thumbs’ up.

“If you’re quite finished,” Levi muttered, “I’d like to go before we waste too much more of the night.”

“Where are we even going?” Isabel asked, her wings flapping a few times in preparation.

“Does it really matter? We’re just going out for a bit.” Without waiting any longer, Levi whirled around and stepped off the branch, raising both sets of his wings wide to catch the cool breeze and let it lift him through the sky. He spiraled through the branches in silent flight, knowing his companions were close by.

Levi really had no set destination in mind; just that he wanted to _move_ , to fly. It almost felt like he was searching for something, but what that was, Levi had no clue.

Isabel and Farlan had no complaints, however. They were just pleased to get away from the community for a bit and enjoy the embrace of the night. Naturally nocturnal, it was a bit difficult for them to sleep during the day and be expected to stay within the borders of the community at night, so being able to slip out did wonders for their spirits.

Levi flew aimlessly in the air for a bit before Isabel flew up next to him, holding her wings out straight to glide gracefully through the air. She held her arms out wide, enjoying the cool wind on her face before tilting to swoop closer to Levi and letting out a short chirp to gain his attention.

“Do you want to find a place to _soul-cast?_ ” she called. “Your magic felt a bit weak, so it would be good to do it before your attunement deteriorates too much more.” She was flapping her wings a bit faster to keep up with him and Levi slowed so she wouldn’t tire herself out.

Since he possessed two sets of wings, (a thinner, more flexible bottom later and a top akin to that of most sprites’) he was a bit faster than most, more agile, as all omegas were.

He scanned the distance in front of him, considering and slowed down even more to see if there would be any quiet, safe places for a _cast_. There was something that felt _different_ about tonight, a strange feel in the air that left Levi slightly jittery and on edge. There was no way he’d be able to _cast_ with his focus frayed like this.

“Tonight’s no good,” Levi called back, keeping his voice low so as to not call the attention of any curious birds to them. Isabel looked a bit disappointed, though she didn’t press the issue. As a beta, she lacked the ability to _cast_ and didn’t pretend to understand the intricacies of it.

Suddenly Farlan swooped up to his other side, pointing ahead. “There’s a light up there. Bright like the sun and too big to be a lightning bug.”

Levi turned his eyes to the distance, following Farlan’s finger.

There was indeed an unnatural light shining through the thick branches of their forest, bobbing and weaving through the night. Levi’s heart caught in his throat as he felt a strong urge to get closer. It was too strong a desire to be written off as simple curiosity, though.

Was this why he felt so strange? Was there something about this light that was calling to him?

While curious, Levi’s first and foremost thought was of their safety. Deciding to err on the side of caution, he rose a hand in a silent command before diving down. He spiraled through the air, wings wrapped around his body in a tight curl before the air cleared of branches and foliage. Flaring his wings in a sharp movement, Levi slowed his descent and hovered in the air for a moment before dropping down onto a thin, yet sturdy branch of a spiky bush.

Levi carefully folded his wings back, not wanting to snag the delicate membrane on a thorn. Farlan and Isabel landed next to him a few seconds later, following as he crept forwards to peer through the sparse foliage.

“Hey,” Isabel whispered, peeking over his shoulder, “what is that?”

“I’ve never seen a light like that during the night before,” Farlan whispered, creeping up next to him.

If it were any other omega, Farlan would be stepping in front of them, pushing them back to protect, but Levi had proven time and time again that he needed no protection. That and considering he’d been their former Squad Leader in the Maria Scouts, Isabel and Farlan naturally deferred to him, leadership settling onto his shoulders comfortably.

Levi didn’t answer, just kept his eyes trained on the bright light, the silver sheen fading from his eyes. It was bright enough to light up the entire clearing in front of them and Levi felt his breath catch when he saw what was holding the light.

The thing was _massive_ , Levi realized. It looked remarkably similar to a sprite, except it lacked wings.

Stepping forwards and dropping off the branch, Levi hesitantly flew closer, hovering in place with his hands resting upon his swords as he stopped a safe distance away, but close enough to get a better look.

The giant looked like it was a male of whatever species it was, Levi thought. From behind him, he heard Isabel and Farlan fluttering closer, cautious like him but also overwhelmed with curiosity.

“What is it?” Farlan breathed, as if afraid they’d be overhead.

Though, Levi wasn’t sure if this new creature that had suddenly appeared in their woods was immune to a glamour or not. It worked on the simpler beasts and birds of the woods and kept them safe from being eaten, but Levi had a feeling this was more on a sprite’s level of intelligence.

“No idea,” Levi replied, keeping his voice quiet and low. His hands palmed the hilt of his blades. He found a small comfort in the familiar weight and feel of them, even if his swords would prove nothing but useless against the sheer size of the beast in front of them.

He watched as the creature set the light down, hopping onto some large boulders easily before pulling out what looked to be a journal of some kind. Intrigued by the similarities between their kinds, Levi drifted closer.

“Our glamour should keep us hidden,” Levi murmured, eyes locked onto the creature, watching as it pulled out a writing utensil and began jotting something down. “I’m going to look more closely.”

He heard no protests from Isabel and Farlan as he soared closer, circling around its head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two of them following his lead, flitting around to look at the creature. Isabel let out a thrilled trill as she darted close to its ear, looking carefully at long brown hair, excited at their new discovery. Farlan let out a series of warning chirps, keeping a close eye on her as they examined this new intruder to the forest.

They communicated through their vocalizations as they flew around, since they carried further and words would just get lost in the night breeze. As he’d thought before, letting out a curious chirp when he looked more closely at unmarked skin, they were remarkably similar, though this giant lacked wings and horns or any sort of marking that bespoke his secondary gender.

It would be exceedingly hard to tell, Levi mused, swooping down to get a better look at claw-less fingers. The giant had set aside his book and was now resting his hands upon his legs. Levi wondered how this giant defended himself without them; no claws to rend flesh, no wings to escape, and if he were an alpha, no horns to use while posturing and fighting during ruts.

Distracted as he was, he missed the way the giant tensed in preparation to move. Before he could react, large hands were clasped over him, making Levi emit a shocked cry as he was trapped.

He heard the distressed chirps and calls of his name as he lay in stunned silence. Then his fleshy cage was moving up and panicking, Levi called up his magic and dispelled the glamour around them, hoping that if the giant saw what they were, they’d be less likely to be eaten or injured.

The warmth of his magic suffused him, lighting up his marks. Levi felt the glamour drop right as he was released from the cage and flung through the air, hurtling faster than he’d ever flown.

Levi twisted in the air, trying desperately to right himself while flaring his wings to create drag and slow down, but he was simply moving too fast.

Right as Levi raised his legs to roll over in the air, he collided with a tree. His left leg hit it first, sending a burst of pain through him as his calf hit the tree with a jarring ‘thud,’ knee twisting as the rest of his body followed. His head ached and a throbbing washed over him when the back of his head hit rough bark, dazing him and making his ears ring.

It was with a distant realization that Levi realized he was falling, but he was unable to make his wings do more than just twitch. Wind whistled past Levi’s ears as he fell, blinking up at the night sky helplessly. He’d taken some hard hits before, fallen through the air, but there was always someone to catch him as he fell, to support him.

Levi had never felt this helpless while in the air before.

Luckily, there were some leafy bushes at the base of the tree that slowed his descent, but he was still going too fast. Unable to do anything more than twitch a bit in shock, Levi closed his eyes and prepared himself for the moment his body hit the soft soil, sending a fleeting prayer to the Moon that he wouldn’t land on anything hard. 

````

Eren Jaeger had always possessed an adventurous soul lurking under the veneer of well-polished respectability. It was why, when he first heard about an expedition to a recently-discovered continent, he took a leave from his father’s medical clinic, said quick goodbyes to his friends and colleagues and jumped to sign up for the foray into the new world.

It had been a harrowing, long journey across the sea and through hot, muggy forests, but now, listening to the calls of the wildlife in the darkness of his tent, Eren felt it was well worth all of it. Every day brought a new adventure, a new discovery, much to his delight. He’d filled countless journals with his observations.

Usually, he was able to pass out in his bedroll when it was time for his little band of expeditioners to rest but tonight, Eren found he wasn’t able to sleep. Muttering a curse to himself, Eren pulled on some clothes and a light jacket, strapped his machete onto his belt and grabbed his unfilled journal and a lantern. Not wanting to wake anyone with the bright light, he turned it to a low flame, just enough to illuminate his path before stepping carefully and quietly out of his tent.

Maybe a short walk and some writing would clear his head and tire him out. The forest was dangerous, but Eren didn’t intend to go far from their camp. The cool night air was a welcome relief from the heat of the day; close to the equator as it was, it was still overly hot even though it was technically winter.

He tread carefully, making as little noise as possible to avoid disturbing any nocturnal predators. It was slow going, but eventually Eren came to a small clearing with some boulders and after a light internal deliberation, set his lamp down and hopped up onto one.

Taking out his journal, he began to jot down some observations and notes from the day’s travel while the details were still fresh, brows furrowing as he concentrated.

Or tried to.

Small bugs kept zipping around his head, the humming of their wings and small squeaks they made disturbing him as he tried to concentrate. In more ways than one. What sort of bug squeaked?

Looking up, Eren followed the path the bugs flew in, noting the way their lights seemed to blink in and out like fireflies – though, these were far too large to be fireflies. Curious now and unable to focus on his writing, Eren set his journal aside and remained completely still, eyes trailing their movements.

His stillness seemed to draw the insects in closer, much to his delight. Their glow reminded him of the lightning bugs he used to catch as a child, sparking fond memories. Deciding he wanted a closer look at these new insects he’d discovered, Eren waited patiently for one to flit nearby and slow down enough for him to reach it.

When one hovered near his hands and paused in its flight for a second, Eren shot them out in the blink of an eye to trap the glowing insect in his cupped hands. He missed the way the other insects seemed to flit about frantically, their squeaking sounds becoming louder.

Eren brought his hands up, intent on getting a closer peek at the curious little insect he had trapped when suddenly, a bright white light shone between the cracks of his fingers – and his palms started _burning_.

“Shit,” Eren cursed lowly, bringing his hands apart and trying to shake out the burn from his palm before he could think about it. He unwittingly sent the insect in his hand flying. Eren saw the glow from the insect he had trapped go hurtling through the air and hit the trunk of a nearby tree before falling to the ground underneath some large, leafy bushes.

Eren’s eyes widened at that – he hadn’t meant to send the poor thing crashing into a tree!

Hurriedly, he shoved the journal aside and strode to the tree, crouching down to search for the insect, chagrin overtaking him. He hadn’t meant to injure or kill it; his reaction to the burning had been instinctual. In his haste to find the little bug, Eren missed the way the other two insects had fallen back, their glow fading out as their squeaks changed to faint words.

Instead, Eren crept closer and saw a faint, stuttering glow through the leaves of a bush.

There it was.

He pushed the foliage aside gently and leaned forwards, only to freeze at what he saw.

That was no insect.

That was…

It was no longer than the length of his palm, but it was unmistakably a _person_ laying there on the ground. A person with weakly fluttering wings and swirling, glowing marks on the bit of pale skin what was exposed. They were lying on their side, fingers weakly twitching and eyes fluttering closed.

 _What_?

His mind was blank in shock, body frozen as he stared at the shuddering little creature. It was…

Eren had heard stories of fairies and sprites and all manner of creatures that inhabited the deep depths of the woods before, but he had never put much stock in them before. And yet, one appeared to be here, in front of him.

And he had hurt it.

_Oh fuck._

“Oh lord,” Eren breathed, watching as the little person tried to sit up with shaking arms, only to fail and fall back down, giving a small, weak cough that barely reached his ears. “I am so, _so_ sorry. Oh no,” he breathed out quiet reassurances and slowly reached out, fingers shaking a bit in disbelief intermingled with worry.

Was it… okay? 

The little person seemed too dazed to realize what Eren was doing as he cupped his hands around it carefully and gently. It gave a faint sound that sounded almost like a confused chirp as Eren scooped it up, taking the utmost care to not rumple the delicate silvery-black wings or jostle the fragile-looking body. Eren brought it up to his chest, cradling it a bit and bent his face down to get a better look, concern and curiosity intermingling in light of what he’d discovered.

It was a he, Eren was sure of it.

Though his features were delicate-looking, they were masculine in appearance, and his onyx-black hair was styled in a neat little undercut. He was wearing tight black pants and a simple white shirt with the sleeves pushed up and a brown vest over that. What looked to be leather straps covered his body, small pouches of what Eren assumed to be provisions attached to them.

The wings waving weakly in the air reminded Eren somewhat of a butterfly’s, though they seemed a bit sturdier; thicker and more flexible as they shuddered and twitched in response to the hit the person they were attached to had taken. The creature had two sets of them, one on top of the other, with the lower set a sightly lighter shade of black. As they moved and jerked in alarming discoordination, they brushed against his hand, allowing Eren to feel a startling warmth emanating from them.

Though they looked very similar to a butterfly’s in shape, they felt nothing like it. Instead of the chitin-covered membrane of butterfly wings, they seemed to be made of a very thin, sturdy skin with blood vessels running through them, Eren surmised.

Gingerly, he shifted the fairy – pixie – creature - whatever it was - into one hand and brought a finger up to press gently against the person’s side, intent on checking to see if there was any damage. Eren would never forgive himself if he hurt such a small, precious creature.

As the tip of his finger pressed against the sprite’s side, he suddenly jerked up and back, legs scrambling to put some distance between them. An alarmed sort of trilling noise burst from him and silver eyes looked up at Eren with a shocked expression.

Eren could see two intriguing black marks on the side of his face, right underneath his eyes for the first time. The markings were interesting in the way they pulsed with a slowly-fading glow, but it was pushed aside in his haste to make sure the little thing was alright.

A reassurance was on the tip of Eren’s tongue but then he saw the small mouth move, tiny hands going to the swords that Eren could now see strapped to his sides. A faint voice reached his ears, but the words were in a language he’d never heard before.

“I’m sorry, I can’t… what are you saying?” Eren asked and then reached up once more to try to touch the little creature in his hand. Silver eyes widened and he tried to get away, but even as he scrambled to his feet, his left leg seemed to buckle and he collapsed, shimmering wings fluttering frantically in distress.

Eren frowned. “Hey, wait, stay still,” he coaxed, trying to keep his voice quiet and calm, something telling him that it was no doubt loud and booming to something so small. “I’m not going to hurt you, I just want to make sure you’re not injured.”

The small chest was rising and falling frantically now. Suddenly, the little fairy brought his hands up. Eren saw the small mouth move and was entranced as the marks on the pale skin lit up once more. Eren caught the faintest hint of a voice and then white light spread from the small, outstretched hands.

It nearly blinded him, but even as Eren instinctively closed his eyes, he felt a warmth suffusing his body, ears going exceptionally hot.

He had the urge to drop the creature in his hands and rub them but Eren fought the urge as he remembered what happened last time. The last thing he wanted to do was drop it or send it flying again; he was steadfastly unwilling to hurt the little thing any further.

When the glow faded, Eren cracked open his eyes and peeked at his hands to see the small creature make a faint, exhausted chirp and then slump over, motionless. Even his wings went still, both sets lying limp and spread out, partially covering the still form.

“Oh no, no no _no_ ,” Eren mumbled frantically, eyes widening in panic, worried beyond belief that the little heart had given out. “No, _please_ be okay, shit, come _on_!”

Even as fraught with worry as he was, Eren kept his movements smooth and gentle, shifting the little thing onto one hand and ever so gently pressing a fingertip against the small chest. It was hard to feel, but there was a slight rise and fall of the chest and a hammering heartbeat that began to slow into something calmer and more rhythmic after a few moments.

Eren stood there a bit longer, making sure that the small heartbeat under the tip of his finger was steady and firm before breathing a sigh of relief.

So he hadn’t killed the poor thing, just probably terrified it beyond belief, scared it into unconsciousness and traumatized it.

_Fantastic work, Eren._

He’d injured it too, most likely, when he had flung it away from him unwittingly.

Eren winced at that, berating himself. He hadn’t known it was a little fairy-type creature when it had happened, but still. As a doctor’s son, he’d been instilled with a deep, unwavering respect for all life, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. It was why he hadn’t immediately batted the little creatures away when they had been flitting around him.

 _Wait, there were more,_ Eren suddenly remembered. _There were two others I saw._

The little creature probably had companions, ones that were worried about him. Raising his head, Eren scanned the area quickly but saw no movement, no glowing that would alert him to the presence of more of these little things.

Wait, but hadn’t this one lost his glow? Had the others as well? If that were true, it would make it even harder to find them. Shit.

“Hello?” he called quietly, not wanting to disturb the unconscious little person in his hand. He wasn’t even sure if they could understand him, but Eren had to try. “I have your friend. I think he’s hurt and I’m so sorry. If you’re here, please come out! I don’t know what to do!”

There was a faint rustle and relief filled his chest momentarily at thinking it was another winged person, but it immediately sunk in despair when he heard a familiar voice.

“Eren?” Armin called, his voice soft, yet carrying in the night. “We woke up and found you gone! Are you out there? It’s dangerous to be alone!”

Fuck, Armin. While he had no doubt the quiet intellectual would love to see the little fairy cradled gently in his hand, his sense of logic told him that this was better kept a secret. There’s no telling what the rest of his colleagues would do if they found him with a creature that until now, Eren was sure only existed in children’s tales.

Eyes scanning the clearing one last time and heart sinking at no sign of more of the little creatures, Eren took a deep breath. He’d go back, wait until his colleagues were asleep, then make sure the little person’s leg was alright. Once Eren was assured of that, he’d bring him back out here and pray that there were more of them to take the little fairy back.

Right.

Eren quickly strode back to the boulders he had been perched upon, shoving his journal into one of the pockets of his trousers, then taking up his lamp and turning the brightness of it down. Carefully, he tucked the hand still cradling the unconscious little creature into the pocket of his light coat, glad that they were roomy enough to keep his palm cupped and create a makeshift sort of safe cradle for him.

The little fairy didn’t stir, for which Eren was extremely grateful. It was with reluctance that Eren stood, making sure not to jostle the precious cargo in his pocket.

“I’m sorry about this,” Eren called quietly, pitching his voice so Armin couldn’t hear it. “I’m not going to hurt him, I promise. I’ll bring him back soon, so if you can hear and understand me, please stay here until I can return.”

And then, he turned and called out to Armin, walking through the dense forest carefully, ever mindful of the sleeping creature in his pocket.

````

It took many apologies and reassurances to his colleagues to not wander off in the middle of the night again before Eren was able to break free and return to his tent. He rushed there as soon as he was out of sight and slipped in, setting his lamp down and turning it to the lowest setting before turning to secure the flap of his tent. Eren was glad he’d put the rain flap on earlier when he had pitched it; it blocked some of the light from escaping and prevented his silhouette from being seen from outside.

Eren doubted that anyone was still up; they’d most likely gone right back to sleep after finding him, but he liked to be safe.

Assured that he was alone and in private, light dimmed enough to let Eren just barely see with clarity, he finally removed his right hand from his pocket. The little fairy creature was still asleep, luckily. He moved to the table after retrieving a jar from his belongings along with a clean handkerchief. He placed it on the table, ruffling it and fluffing it up a bit before he laid the winged form onto it, then carefully placed the jar on top of him after making sure that it was tilted enough so the little thing wouldn’t suffocate.

It rankled him to have to do something as barbarous as trapping him like an insect under the glass, but Eren saw no other choice. He didn’t want the creature to panic and try to fly away in unfamiliar territory only to crash into something, especially if he couldn’t understand Eren.

With the little fairy in a safe place for the moment, Eren drew his journal out of his pocket and retrieved a fresh pencil, having lost the one he’d brought along in all the excitement. He pulled up a chair and making sure not to make the table move, set his journal down and began writing the events of the night in it.

Eren made sure to be vague, referring to the little creature as an “insect” so that if someone were to read his notes, they wouldn’t think him mad – or try to find the little fairies.

It wasn’t long before movement caught his eye and he noticed black, shimmering wings start to shift, small fingers curling on the handkerchief. It looked like the little creature was awakening. Excited now, Eren put his journal onto his bed, shoving it underneath the pillow and then watched quietly as he started to wake.

Pale grey eyes now lacking a silver sheen opened blearily and he sat up gingerly. It was interesting especially to watch his wings - they waved lazily, the layered sets of them moving in synchronization. Never once did they brush or rub against each other and the little creature sleepily brought a hand up to brush over the gleaming expanse, as if smoothing them down after getting rumpled in sleep.

A sort of sleepy trill escaped him, followed by a sort of purring rumble, as if clearing his throat. It was hard to hear, an already quiet sound coming from something so small, but all of Eren’s attention was focused on him. He wouldn’t miss this for the world.

After a few stroking motions, the little fairy shook his head and with that, the last vestiges of unconsciousness seemed to fall away. Grey eyes widened as the unfamiliar setting became known to him and as his fingers curled in the fabric of the handkerchief, he glanced down and let out a small sound of surprise.

The black-haired head whipped around and then his gaze locked onto Eren.

They simply stared at one another for a few moments before the little fairy bared surprisingly sharp teeth and let out a low, rattling hiss that seemed to emanate deep from the back of his throat. It was an undoubtably hostile, feral sound.

If the little thing had been bigger, maybe Eren would have felt threatened. Right now, though, he only felt bad because he knew that the small creature was most likely frightened out of his mind.

Raising his hands in a placating manner, Eren tried to soothe him. “Hey, hey,” Eren crooned, keeping his voice soft. “It’s alright, you’re safe and I’m not going to hurt you.”

Eren was gratified when the hiss trailed off and the fairy tilted the black-haired head in a more inquisitive and appraising manner.

“What the fuck are you?”

The words were faint but still discernable to Eren’s ears. The silence of the night probably had something to do with that as well. Still, the understandable words sent a flash of excitement through Eren, and he wasn’t able to fight off the giddiness that must be showing through his expression.

“Hey, I can understand you now!” Eren exclaimed, beaming a bit.

The person eyed him warily, flinching a bit at the sudden loudness of Eren’s voice. His silvery-black wings twitched a bit and he inched backwards more, though Eren noticed his was favoring his left leg heavily, dragging it limply along the ground. It was hard to see because the fairy was so small, but Eren thought the knee looked a bit swollen. He couldn’t be sure however, seeing as a long, thigh-high boot covered much of his leg.

Fuck, had Eren really caused that? Immediately, he felt a sinking feeling in his chest.

The little fairy kept inching back until his back hit the back of the jar that Eren had slid him under, bending his wings a bit. It was on the tip of Eren’s tongue to tell him to be careful but immediately, the sprite turned around, his hands reaching up to smooth along the glass.

“What the…” he breathed, tapping at the clear wall, cringing a bit at the unnatural, smooth feel and resounding, hollow noise his fist gave against it. “What is this?” he hissed, turning to shoot an icy grey glare at Eren. “Let me out! Fuck!”

“Wait, wait,” Eren said hastily, reaching out to steady the jar before the pounding could make it slide over the edge of his makeshift table. “Look, I don’t want to hurt you, I swear!” At his words, the sprite seemed to settle just a bit. His pounding stopped and he turned to face Eren, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I just wanted to make sure you weren’t hurt. My colleagues were looking for me and I couldn’t just leave you there. It didn’t feel right. So I brought you back to camp to watch over you until I was sure you were unharmed,” Eren babbled, intent on setting the little creature’s fears to rest. “I have no intention of holding you captive; I’ll let you go right now!”

Even as he said it, Eren reached out to grab the jar and with a slow, deliberate movement lifted it, making sure that the lithe wings didn’t catch on the ridges as he brought it up and then flipped it, placing it on the edge of the travel-table.

“What even is that?” the person said warily, thin grey eyes watching as the clear prison was lifted from over him.

Eren could see that not being confined anymore had done wonders to dissipate the hostility emanating from him. Instead of anger, he was now just looking at Eren with a mixture of confusion, wariness, and perhaps a bit of curiosity.

It wasn’t much, but it was progress.

“This?” Eren said, glancing at the container. “It’s a jar. It’s for holding things.”

“I guessed that much, dipshit,” the fairy snorted. “What is it made out of? I’ve never seen or felt anything like it.”

“Oh! It’s glass,” Eren explained, setting it off to the side. “It’s something we use a lot of.” The little person remained silent. Wanting nothing more than to put him at ease, Eren sat down, hands in his lap while making sure his face was open with a calm expression settled onto it. “I’m Eren, a human. By your reaction, I’m guessing you’ve never seen one of us before. Do you have a name? What, exactly, are you? A fairy?”

Perhaps sensing that Eren meant no harm, the little creature’s tense body relaxed a bit, but his eyes were still tight and body posture still tense and wary. “My name is Levi. I’ve never seen any of your kind, no. I don’t know what a ‘fairy’ is. We’re called ‘sprites’ by the other creatures of the land.”

“There are more like you? Other creatures, too? What are they like?” Eren thought that he was being maybe too eager, but it seemed like his eagerness helped to set the little sprite – Levi - at ease. His wings shifted from their high, drawn-back position and spread a bit. The silvery wings caught the dim light and reflected it, sending lazily waving patterns across the tent’s canvas walls.

Eren was absolutely enchanted.

“There are many creatures that make these forests home. Sprites of many races, nymphs, kelpies, and many more.” Levi made a grimace at the last one and something in Eren guessed that they were not as amiable as the sprite seemed to be. He was proven right when Levi continued, “Some are amiable and live in peace with the rest of us, while others have no desire for peace.”

Levi blinked suddenly, brows furrowing together as he glanced around. “You mentioned... colleagues? What are those?”

Eren glanced down, wondering how to explain the term. He rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to explain, “They’re uh… the other people I’m traveling with. Friends.”

“Fuck, there are more of you giants? And I just dispelled the glamour over Isabel and Farlan, too. Shit,” the sprite hissed, pressing his hands over his eyes. His wings fluttered in distress and the small draft of wind it created made the edges of the handkerchief ripple. A few papers on the edge of the small travel-desk lifted up, threatening to slide off.

For something so small, the wings were apparently very strong. Though they had to be, Eren supposed, to carry a person that was proportional to their size. Despite how delicate and thin they looked, Eren knew that they would have to be sturdy in order to bend and flex as they were doing now without tearing or folding over.

Something Levi said suddenly struck him as strange. “The glamour?”

Levi gave a deep sigh and dropped his hands from his eyes, staring down at the rumpled fabric of the handkerchief. “It’s used to hide my kind from the sight of predators,” Levi said quietly. “Makes us look unappealing and unthreatening.”

“Strange, but effective,” Eren breathed, eyes lighting up as he thought back to when he first saw Levi. “You looked like an odd, glowing bug to me earlier. That’s fascinating.” Then, the names struck him, and though he thought he knew what Levi was talking about, he had to ask to make sure. “Wait, who are Farlan and Isabel?”

“My companions. They’re basically family. I have no idea where they are, but without the glamour…” Levi’s brows furrowed, hands clenching in the handkerchief and Eren sensed the rising panic within the sprite’s small body.

Eren raised his hands in a little calming gesture, trying to reassure the little sprite. “Hey, it’s okay,” he said soothingly, seeing the way the tiny chest started to rise and fall a bit more rapidly. “Can’t they just, you know, put it back on? You seemed to do it easily enough.”

“I’m the only one who _can._ And they can’t return, because the rest of the community would figure out I’m an omega.” Even as he said it, Levi stilled, eyes widening as if in shock that he had said that, then shook his head. “Doesn’t matter, you’ve probably already scented me after all the magic usage,” he mumbled, wings drooping a bit forlornly at the quiet words.

But none of it made sense to Eren and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. “You’re… a _what?_ What is that?”

At that, the sprite threw him an odd glance, then tilted his head and gave a strange little sniff before shaking his head in confusion.

“What the hell?” Levi said before climbing wobblily to his feet, grimacing a bit and keeping most of his weight off of his left leg.

“Whoa, hey,” Eren exclaimed, hands rising and then fluttering uselessly in the air as the sprite gained his balance, wings fluttering a bit to keep him from losing it.

Despite himself, Eren was entranced.

In the faint glow from his near-burnt out lamp, Eren could see that they weren’t just straight black; near the base, they lightened to a misty, glistening grey and veins of silver shot through the delicate-looking appendages. They were the same color as Levi’s eyes, Eren realized.

Distracted as he was, he didn’t quite notice as the sprite gave a firm flap of his wings and shot into the air. He flitted closer, wings making a delicate humming sound. It wasn’t until he was a few inches from Eren’s face that the human recoiled a bit, startled at the sudden closeness.

“I can’t smell you,” Levi murmured, thin black eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

With a sudden movement, Levi zipped down and Eren felt a tickling flutter of wings underneath his jaw and a soft touch of tiny hands as they roamed over the skin underneath his ear. They trailed down to the juncture of his neck and shoulder in a questing movement.

“You have no scent glands,” the sprite murmured. “What the hell?”

This close to Eren’s ear, he could finally hear that faint voice with extreme clarity, and Eren was surprised to discover that Levi’s voice was deep and smooth, a pleasant sound that made Eren suppress a shiver.

“I’m… confused,” Eren admitted, holding very still so that he wouldn’t move and accidentally knock away the fluttering creature with his chin.

“That makes two of us,” Levi murmured. Suddenly, the tickling was gone along with the faint touch, but then he felt a slight weight settle onto his shoulder. Turning to look, Eren saw that the sprite had settled onto his shoulder, hurt leg spread out and good leg drawn up.

The sprite was giving him an almost quizzical look. “Your kind must not have secondary genders. If that’s the case, it would take some time for me to explain and I hate to admit it, but I’m not feeling up to it,” the sprite said with reluctance. “Suffice to say, those of my dynamic are the only ones that can use magic. I prefer to keep it hidden.”

“O…kay,” Eren murmured, head reeling with the sudden improbability of the situation. He had a magic-using mythical creature sitting on his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.

What even _was_ his life?

Eren had never been as thrilled as he was at this moment.

Levi still seemed a bit distressed and Eren desperately wanted to set him at ease. “I… how about you let me look at your leg and then we can go find your… family?” Eren offered with a reassuring smile.

Bleached grey eyes traveled from him out to the flap of the tent, noting the darkness still outside. The night was early, with the sun having set not too long ago. It was winter and the nights were long, so there should be plenty of time.

“I suppose. There should be enough time before dawn.” Eren must have given a confused look, because the sprite sighed. “It’s when we need to have returned or the community will come searching for us.”

Eren didn’t quite understand, but he gave a small hum.

Slowly, he lifted a hand up to his shoulder and after a moment of grey eyes thoughtfully appraising it, the sprite slid from his shoulder onto the large palm in a sure, fluid movement. Carefully cradling the precious cargo in his hands, Eren lowered Levi onto the table, tilting them a bit to help the sprite slide onto the surface of the handkerchief a bit more easily.

Levi shifted and settled, wincing as he had to maneuver his hurt leg a bit to stretch it out. “Get comfortable, I’m going to grab my medical supplies.”

Levi gave him a short nod and laid down, propping himself up on his elbows while he watched Eren rummage through his bag for a first aid kit. Opening it, he ruffled through the items; he’d have to be careful because of how small the sprite was, but Eren was confident that he could at least ease some of the pain.

````

There were a lot of strange smells in this area, Levi noted. As soon as the glass jar had been lifted from over him, his nose had immediately been assaulted by them, threatening to overwhelm him. It was why he hadn’t noticed the lack of telltale pheromones emanating from Eren that would allow him to determine the… human’s…. dynamic.

It was even stranger to discover the lack of dynamic, but at the same time, it put him a bit more at ease. Of course there would be differences between their kinds, being two completely different species. Levi hadn’t realized how tense the thought of this human discovering and understanding what he was had unconsciously made him.

But now, he felt himself relaxing. There were no pheromones, but Levi’s sensitive nose could still pick up on the faint shifts of the human’s emotions. All he could sense was surprise and worry, maybe a bit of excitement, too. But Levi could understand that; he couldn’t deny the subtle thrill of discovery that was lingering in the back of his mind, too.

As dangerous as these humans could prove to be if they weren’t all like Eren, at least Levi could definitely say he wasn’t bored anymore. The itch that had been clawing at him to get out of the community had basically dissipated, leaving only a sense of calm throughout him.

Interesting.

Levi watched Eren quietly as he returned with a white bag in his hands that was adorned with a red symbol. The human placed it carefully next to him, then pulled out some interesting-looking tools and what Levi guessed were bandages.

“Wait,” he said, realization dawning. “If I go back to the community with strange wrappings on, it won’t look good.”

Eren paused, faltering. His bright teal eyes looked at the bandages and then to Levi, seeming a bit lost. “Uh… then what should I use?”

“If I want to avoid suspicion, then we’re going to need to use what we normally would in an emergency situation. Grass or leaves for the wrappings, usually beeswax or sap to hold them in place. Once I get back, I can let the healer look at it and put better ones on.”

“Ah, right,” Eren mumbled, putting a few of the things away. “I know we have beeswax that’s used to windproof the tents and our equipment, I can take some of that. Grass shouldn’t be hard either. I’ll be right back. Stay there,” Eren said, holding out a hand as he rose from his knees and brushed them off before striding out of the tent.

“Where else am I going to go, idiot?” Levi mumbled, shifting a bit as Eren left. He tried to squint into the darkness, but the bright light Eren had burning was messing with his usually perfect night vision. Even as low as it was burning, it was still bright and unnatural enough to give him a slight headache.

Eren was gone for only a few minutes before soft footsteps and the reemergence of his large silhouette alerted Levi that he was back.

“Alright,” Eren said, his voice loud at first then immediately growing softer when he saw the way Levi winced at the volume. “I have what we’ll need.” Gently, he placed the items next to Levi, nudging them closer with his pinky as if proffering them for his approval.

 _Cute_ , Levi thought for a moment, glancing up at the bright teal eyes watching him intently.

He leaned over on one elbow to rifle through the items, humming in approval at what he found. Sturdy grass, a small blob of beeswax and some thick leaves, all materials that wouldn’t raise questions. They smelled a bit strange, a bit too human but once he had Isabel and Farlan rub them with their scent, no one would be the wiser.

“These work,” Levi said in approval, shifting back. With only a slight wince at the pain that shot through his leg at the motion, he spread his injured appendage out. “I’m no healer, but you seem like you know what you’re doing. I’ll leave it to you.”

Eren gave a small laugh at that. “You guessed right. My father was a doctor; I picked up a few things from him and then started following in his footsteps when I got older,” Eren said and while Levi was unfamiliar with the term, he could use the context clues to guess well enough. Eren picked up a couple of tools and held them up for Levi to see. “These are tweezers and this is a magnifying glass. The first will let me have a bit more delicacy, given you’re so, uh, small, and the other will help me see better, for the same reason.”

“Alright,” Levi murmured, eyeing them warily. Moving slowly and carefully, Eren held the glass over his leg, leaning in a bit more and tilting it this way and that, inspecting the proffered leg. Levi wondered with a small bit of amusement how the human could even see under the long brown hair falling into his face. “Can you remove your boot and roll up the pant leg?”

“I can remove the boot, but I might need to cut the pant leg off,” Levi admitted. Upon seeing Eren’s quirked brow, Levi sighed. “It hurts too much to try to peel them off or push them up. These are designed for flying; the tightness is to make us more streamlined without extra fabric, but they’re a bitch to get on and off.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Eren hummed. He set aside the tweezers and picked up another tool. “These are scissors; they’re small enough that I should be able to nip it off without a problem.”

Levi reached down to shed his boot, wincing a bit as he did so. “Here, hold your leg and support it, I’ll pull it off with the tweezers,” Eren offered upon seeing Levi struggle to pull the long boot off. Levi quirked a brow but did as Eren suggested. He held his leg up with one hand and when Eren carefully clasped the tip of the boot with his tweezers, Levi started pushing on it, helping it slide down his leg with minimal discomfort.

Eren was gentle and didn’t tug too hard, being careful not to catch Levi’s toes with the delicate tips. Levi sighed a bit in relief as the boot slid off, wiggling his toes a bit. He slipped his sock off and then the footwrap of his harness. Eren looked on in fascination. “What are the harness and straps for?”

“They’re part of the uniform for our Scouting force,” Levi said, simplifying it. “They’re used to hold provisions and create a grip in case we need to transport an injured sprite and they need to hold onto us.”

“Fascinating,” Eren breathed, holding the magnifying glass a bit closer, no doubt to get a better look.

It made Levi feel weird, being looked at so closely and so he shoved the glass away. “Oi, you gonna stare all day or actually help me out?”

Eren gave him a cheeky smile. “Who says I can’t do both?”

Levi just scoffed. “Cut off the pant leg already. My leg hurts like fuck.”

Eren looked a bit downcast at that as he set the tweezers down and reached for the pair of small, thin-bladed scissors.

“That was my fault. I am sorry about that,” he said softly, biting his lip. “I didn’t mean to fling you. My palms started to burn when you lit up and it was a reflex.”

“It’s alright,” Levi sighed. “You had no idea I was a sprite and not some sort of weird bug.”

Eren looked a bit dejected still, but tried to shake it off, to his credit. “Hold up the material of your pants as much as you can so I can made a cut. We should be able to rip through it easily after that. It looks fairly thin.”

“It is,” Levi told him, doing as he asked. He pinched the material between two fingers and held it away from his skin as much as possible. “It’s thin to be lightweight and protect us from the heat and sunlight without making us overheat.”

Unfortunately, it was very tight and there wasn’t much give. Still, Eren was able to make a small incision and carefully slid the very tip of his scissors underneath the material, using the sharp blade to tear at it with Levi helping. Eventually the leg was completely free and Eren made a vertical cut down it, allowing Levi to slip it off and toss it to the side.

He looked at his leg; the knee was bruised a bit swollen, along with the muscles of his calf. Freeing his limb made Levi feel a bit better, but it still throbbed slightly.

“I need to prod at it a bit,” Eren said softly, ever-conscious of Levi’s hearing. “It might hurt.”

The caution he took with Levi, who was so much smaller than him, sent a slight warmth through him. It was strange, but he trusted Eren, despite having only met a short bit ago.

“Yeah, go on,” Levi said with a small jerk of his head.

Eren set the tweezers down and just as slowly as he had done with everything else, he reached out and gently placed a large, warm finger on Levi’s knee. It hurt a bit and Levi inhaled sharply at the shock of pain.

Large teal eyes swiveled towards him, noting the reaction.

“What are the tattoos for?” Eren asked softly and Levi appreciated the attempt to keep his mind off the pain, especially when Eren gently pushed at his knee a bit more before sliding his finger down to his calf.

“Tattoos?” Levi asked with gritted teeth, before he realized that Eren was asking about the black, curving lines that trailed down his leg and face. “The marks. They start to show up when we present with our dynamics at adulthood. I usually use a glamour to make them look different to others in our community, to hide my gender from others.”

“You’ve mentioned that before,” Eren murmured. “Are… omegas? Looked down on?”

“The opposite,” Levi said, watching as the finger traveled down and lightly pressed against his ankle. It twinged a bit, but nowhere as badly as his knee had. “We’re not… common,” Levi explained lamely. “I just have no desire to be protected and coddled, or mated off to the community’s Head Alpha, which would most likely happen if I were discovered.”

“So those like you are pretty rare,” Eren surmised. “I can understand your desire for freedom.” At Levi’s skeptical glance, Eren simply gave a small, quick shrug. “I left behind a successful life and came on this trip because I was tired of the restrictive life I had before. I love it out here,” Eren said, finger stilling on Levi’s leg as he gave him a quick smile. “And I wouldn’t have met you, which has definitely been the highlight of my trip.”

Eren’s bright smile and the large, warm finger nearly encompassing his leg made something weird twist within him. Levi’s eyes widened a bit in alarm.

The tea. His magic cancelled out the effects of the tea whenever he used it. 

“Levi? Are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?” Eren’s worried, quiet voice brought him back out of his spiraling thoughts, and suddenly, he remembered that Eren wouldn’t be able to smell him. Or the slight hint of slick that Levi could feel starting to form.

It was a sigh of relief that passed his lips, followed by a shake of his head as he forced himself to calm down. “No, I’m fine,” he reassured the human. “Just a bit tender.”

“Gotcha,” Eren replied, and his finger withdrew, though the magnifying glass stayed. “I don’t think anything is broken; your knee was twisted a bit and is swollen. You’ll have to stay off of it and we’ll put a bandage on it to stabilize it and suppress the swelling. Ice- something cold would help, too. I don’t know if you have anything like that.”

“We have snow preserved for situations like these, yes,” Levi replied as Eren picked up the tweezers and grabbed a piece of grass with them. “I could heal it, but I would rather have our healer look at it; she might see something you were unable to and I’d rather not do so unless I know nothing is wrong that would make it heal oddly.”

The human seemed unruffled at Levi seemingly doubting his skill but instead paused and looked at him in wonder. “You can heal injuries?”

Levi nodded. “It’s part of my magic.”

“That’s amazing,” Eren beamed. “I can only imagine what we could do if we had magic…” He looked far away suddenly and Levi snapped his fingers to get his attention.

“Oi,” he called. “Help me with this. I’ll wrap it, but I need to know the best way.”

Eren blinked and shook himself. He brought the grass over to Levi and the sprite grabbed it. “You want to wrap it tightly around the knee and rest of the leg to compress it. It stabilizes it and prevents it from swelling too much. Your ankle looks okay, but we’ll do that too, just to be safe,” Eren said. “Start from the bottom and go up towards your knee to prevent blood from getting trapped.”

He gently held the tip of the grass at Levi’s ankle. The sprite started wrapping it around his ankle under Eren's guidance, stopping to secure it with a blob of beeswax. Eren guided Levi through it, assisting with his tweezers occasionally to hold the grass in place and when it was firmly wrapped around his knee, Levi spread another little blob of beeswax onto it.

“Good job,” Eren praised, setting his instruments aside as Levi flexed his leg. It still hurt, but the grass wrapping definitely helped. The human held out a finger to him. “Here, pull yourself up and see if it helps any, then we can get your boot back on.”

Levi eyed Eren's large finger for a moment before grabbing onto it and using the steady hold to pull himself up. He tentatively put a bit of weight onto his leg.

“Not bad,” Levi admitted, pressing down a bit more and stopping when it throbbed. “It’s tender but feels better.” He looked up at Eren, flicking his wings a bit. “Thanks.”

Eren grinned down at him, delighted to have helped. “No problem.”

Levi used his wings to balance him as he put his sock and then boot back on, flapping one side or the other to prevent himself from wobbling and falling over. Eren put his things away and by the time he turned around, Levi was standing with his arms crossed, waiting.

“We should get going,” Levi said, though a small part of him was reluctant to leave.

He didn’t know if he’d see Eren again after this and the thought left him feeling a bit despairing. He didn’t know how long Eren would be in the area as it sounded like they traveled, but Levi made a silent promise to himself that he’d come back and see the human whenever he could – even if he had to go out during the day and risk the sun’s wrath.

“Here, I’ll hold you in my hand so you don’t tire out your wings,” Eren said, placing his hand on the table, palm-up.

Levi pursed his lips, considering for a moment. He was well-equipped for a long flight, but there was an expectant, hopeful look in Eren's bright teal eyes that Levi found hard to deny. He greatly disliked the thought of being treated like a miniature doll such as the ones chicks and fledglings played with, but Eren was waiting; so with a sigh, Levi relented.

“Tch, fine,” he said dismissively. He sat down in Eren's hand, scooting onto the palm. Immediately, warm fingers curled around him, cradling him carefully and preventing him from tipping off as Eren slowly brought his hand up and cradled it against his shoulder.

Eren's hand was warm and while the skin was a bit rough, it was not an uncomfortable perch. Levi wrapped an arm around Eren's thumb, folding his wings back in between two of Eren's fingers to prevent them from getting rumpled.

“You’re a fucking giant,” Levi grumbled, a bit satisfied when a low chuckle rolled from Eren's chest. “If you dare say a word about our size differences I will stab you,” he threatened, seeing a certain glint in the human’s eyes.

“Alright,” Eren relented. “Let me grab my lantern and we can go.”

“The lantern?” Levi’s eyes cut over to the dim yet harsh light shining in the tent. He scoffed. “No need. Besides, that light will only draw attention.” Holding out a hand, Levi called upon his magic, conjuring a ball of soft white light and directing it up in front of them with a small wave of his fingers. “We can use this. I’ll have it follow you on the way back.”

Eren looked fascinated by the soft, pulsing light coming from Levi’s magic.

“I didn’t realize that my lantern was so bad,” Eren said, snuffing the flame. It cast the tent in darkness, illuminated only by a soft white light that was easy on Levi’s eyes and didn’t make them ache.

“It hurts my eyes too,” Levi grumbled, bracing himself as Eren moved. “Fucks up my night vision and makes things hard to see.”

“You can see in the dark?” Eren asked in surprise. He held Levi steady as he moved to unclasp the tent flaps and stepped out, securing it back behind them.

“Yeah,” Levi mumbled, not wanting to get into the intricacies of the sprite races. “Some of us can. Do you remember the way?” Levi then asked, making sure his grip on Eren’s finger was sturdy as the human started walking.

“I think so, it’s not too far from here,” Eren told him. His strides were sure and smooth in order to not jostle the sprite, whom he held cupped carefully against his chest. Levi tapped Eren's finger in a silent gesture to lower his fingers a bit and when he did so, Levi could finally see out from over them. He took in the darkness of the night and thick foliage, the way Eren was carefully picking his way through, squinting a bit.

Figuring it was safe, Levi added a bit more magic to the ball of light, making its glow increase in intensity. Silently he directed it down and away from them. It bobbed and weaved at about Eren's hip level, allowing the human to see the path in front of him and prevent him from tripping on any branches or vines.

It was only a few muttered curses from Eren that broke the silence as they traveled, not wanting to draw the attention of any nocturnal predators as the human made his way back with Levi’s help. It didn’t take them too long, but when they made it to the boulder-strewn clearing, there were no signs of life.

“Hello?” Eren called quietly, looking around to see if there was any signs of the sprites. “I’ve brought Levi back, you can come out.”

There was no response.

“For _fuck’s_ sake,” Levi muttered, scanning the clearing.

While proud of his companions for being wary and not immediately trusting what Eren said, they should be able to recognize his ball of light as it was one they’d seen many times before. Still, they didn’t come forth even though Levi knew that they were there; their scents weren’t fading and there was not a chance they’d just abandon him after seeing him carted off by an unknown giant.

Narrowing his eyes, Levi tilted his head back and let out a long, warbling trill, followed by three sharp, short whistling chirps.

Long ago, they’d come up with wordless signals to find each other in the case of something similar to the fall of Maria happening. This call told them that he was safe, that he was here and they should come to him.

Eren had startled a bit at the sound that suddenly burst forth, sounding a bit like a birds’ call. He remembered briefly that Levi had made some other similar sounds before and a question was on the tip of his tongue when he heard a long, airy whistle and two chirps as if in response.

“Fucking finally,” Levi sighed upon seeing a few leaves shake and relaxed back at the acknowledgement from Isabel. A few moments later, two dark-winged forms were shooting up into the air and gliding towards them. He heard Eren take a deep breath.

They hovered a safe distance away, flitting about with uncertainty. Levi directed the light-ball up so it wouldn’t disrupt their vision with its proximity and when his markings lit up, Farlan was the one to call to him this time.

There were two chirps, one low and the other high. _Are you alright?_

In response, Levi gave a short trill and paused, then followed with three short, piercing chirps. _Yes. Come here._

At the response they finally sped forwards, gliding circles around a stock-still, wide-eyed Eren. Cautiously, the human extended his hand with Levi cradled in it and the two sprites swooped down to hover in front of Levi, who had his arms folded and an impassive expression on his face.

“Levi! Are you okay? What _happened_?” Isabel exclaimed, glaring at the human.

“It’s alright,” Levi said, holding out a hand in an attempt to placate her. “Eren's a friend.”

“He flung you through the air!” Isabel yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. Farlan remained silent but he seemed less than happy with the entire situation. “We didn’t know if he’d bring you back and we were so _worried_! We didn’t know what to _do_!”

“I’m sorry about that,” Eren said, eyes downcast. He kept his voice quiet and Levi was stunned all over once again at the care Eren took to be careful around them. He was so conscious of their differences, of the fact that he could hurt them so easily that it continuously took Levi by surprise. “I didn’t want to just leave him here. I think his knee is twisted a bit, but we wrapped it up. I hope it will keep the swelling down long enough for you to make it back.”

The two sprites looked absolutely taken aback by the turn of events. They shared a glance and some silent agreement seemed to pass through them. Isabel’s face lost its murderous expression.

“You actually convinced Levi to let you help him?” Farlan asked, sounding a bit impressed and looking much less hostile. He flitted closer, regarding an annoyed-looking Levi with a critical gaze before the silver-blue eyes swiveled up to Eren. “Can I…” he gestured to Eren's hand, not sure what the protocol was when asking if he could literally stand on someone’s body.

Eren's brows furrowed in confusion before his face cleared in realization. “Oh! Oh, yeah, go ahead,” Eren exclaimed quietly. He raised his other hand and brought it up to his other, creating a sort of platform for the other two sprites to perch upon.

Farlan folded his wings back and dropped down, eyebrows raising a bit at the strange feel of skin and muscle underneath his feet.

“Whoa,” Isabel exclaimed, dropping down next to Farlan and immediately flopping down in a sitting position. “Your skin is really warm! Look, Levi, we’re actually _sitting_ on someone!”

“I’m aware,” Levi said drily. Isabel’s anger had melted away in the wake of Eren's careful treatment of them, it would seem.

He held out a hand and Farlan took it, helping to pull him up along with Eren as the human lifted the finger Levi had an arm wrapped around. The plush give of Eren's hand wasn’t the steadiest of surfaces to stand on, even though the human held completely, almost unnaturally still.

Eren's eyes were wide as he listened with one ear to Levi and Farlan talking, a bit overwhelmed. Levi’s arm felt so small wrapped around his index finger. The sprites’ gleaming wings occasionally brushed over his skin as they waved and flapped; Eren likened the seemingly unconscious movements to the hand gestures humans made when they talked.

And it suddenly struck Eren.

He was talking to three small, mythical creatures. He had them perched upon his palms, with one rubbing her tiny hand over his skin and fingers, occasionally making a quiet chirp or trill as she examined the size difference between them.

What an odd night. Eren thanked whatever god was out there that he hadn’t been able to sleep tonight; he never would have gotten to meet Levi or experience this if he hadn’t bumbled into that clearing.

“…a human, but he’s been nothing but gentle with us. Eren promised to keep us a secret from his companions.”

Levi’s voice was quiet and firm; the sprite gave him a quick glance and Eren didn’t hesitate as he nodded. “Don’t worry, no one will find out about your existence.”

Farlan didn’t look so sure, but something in Eren or Levi’s face must have placated him somewhat because he nodded. The blonde sprite opened his mouth to say something else and just as Eren was tilting his head down a bit to hear him better, there was a bone-chilling growl rending the night air.

Eren jerked in surprise and fear, instinctively curling his fingers around the sprites to keep them safe and steady. Levi spit out a curse and Farlan launched into the air, yelling something to Levi that sounded like _see if we can distract it_ and Isabel followed him without hesitation.

When Eren raised his eyes, seeking out the sound and his heart sank when he saw a long, lithe shadow at the edge of the clearing, feral yellow eyes locked on Eren. He cupped Levi to his chest as the midnight-black jaguar prowled closer and Eren felt frozen. Its lips were drawn up over long, sharp fangs and Eren felt a sinking feeling in his chest. He hadn’t brought his machete or anything to scare the jaguar off. He knew running was a bad idea, but there was no way he’d be able to fight it off, either.

Eren was _pretty_ sure he was fucked.

“Levi,” he whispered, slowly uncurling his fingers and flattening them so that the sprite wouldn’t be impeded by them, “I want you to fly away, okay? Get back to your community.”

Even as he spoke, the wildcat prowled closer, a guttural snarl rumbling from its chest.

Eren felt a sudden warmth in his hands, much like when Levi had used magic before while being held. The warmth spread through him and Eren glanced down, about to ask what the sprite was doing, but the question died as Levi brought his hands up in front of him. He saw the small mouth move and the marks on his skin light up, caught the faintest hint of Levi’s deep voice before white light spread from small, outstretched hands.

Eren froze as a searing, burning pain spread throughout his body. He wanted to scream at the feel of it, but his lungs had no air and unbidden, his eyes slipped shut. He felt as if every bone, tendon, and muscle in his body were warping, like his skin was being flayed from his bones.

It was too much for his mind to handle and so Eren let his consciousness slip into blessed, cool blackness.

```

Levi didn’t know what had overtaken him as Eren’s large, warm hand had suddenly cupped him protectively against his chest in an instinctive reaction to keep him safe, even though Eren was the most at risk.

At the protective, self-sacrificing gesture, something deep within him had seemed to shift and ripple, calling out for help. His overwhelming thought was simply, _I need Eren to be safe,_ and before he knew it, he was raising his hands as unfamiliar words rose unbidden to his tongue and spilled out.

The familiar flood of magic surged through him, but it felt different, more tangible and… and _life_ -altering. It was nothing like he’d felt before, but at the same time there was a familiarity to it that made his throat close up a bit and his heart sink.

Before he’d had a chance to process it, Levi felt the hands cradling him disappear and he was falling to the ground once more.

 _Fuck_! he thought, trying to roll over and flare his wings, seeing the ground approach at rapid speed.

There was not enough time to slow down and change his momentum before he hit it. Gritting his teeth at the thought of another impact with the forest floor, Levi raised his arms to shield his face and curled his wings in, hoping that they’d take the brunt of the damage; while they looked thin and delicate, the skin was strong and hard to rip, no bones in them to break.

Levi was caught by two pairs of arms right before he hit the ground and his instincts spiked suddenly, flaring to life and making silver eyes widen. The tea he drank killed most of his sense of smell, but he suddenly could smell Isabel and Farlan with clarity; they had caught him in a makeshift cradle of limbs, fingers curling around his harness straps to stop his fall.

It was the magic, Levi realized; he’d been using so much of it tonight that this last little bit had burnt through the tea’s effects, nullifying them.

“Bro!” Isabel called fearfully, wings working double speed to keep both herself and Levi aloft in the air. “Are you okay?” she asked at the same time Farlan asked, “What happened?”

“I...” Levi started, before whipping his head around. Thoughts of his dynamic suddenly flaring to life were all but pushed aside as he looked for the human and see what had happened while falling through the air.

To Levi’s consternation, Eren was gone and all that was left where he had stood before was a pile of clothes the human had been wearing. The wildcat had run off, no doubt disturbed by the bright glow and odd feel of strange magic in the air.

They were safe, but there was no sign of the human who had tried so hard to help him.

“Fuck,” Levi cursed. “ _Eren_. Did I kill him?”

“No,” Farlan said, jerking his chin down to indicate to Isabel that they should land. Carefully, they fluttered down to the ground and set Levi onto his feet. His legs were a bit wobbly and his left leg hurt, but he was able to stand. “You… I don’t know what you did, but I think… he started glowing and then he dropped you and I didn’t see what happened after.”

A breeze rolled through suddenly, stirring the clothes a bit.

“Do you smell that?” Levi asked abruptly, eyes narrowing a bit as he whipped his head around. There was a new scent in the air, one Levi couldn’t put a finger on. It was a clean, fresh scent, one that he wanted to get a good, deep breath of. It was appealing to his newly-risen omega too, because his instincts wanted to keen as it lingered in his senses.

“I only smell you, and _fuck_ – Levi,” Farlan cursed, not paying attention as Levi tilted his head back to scent the air with a little sniff. “What magic did you _use_? I can smell you more strongly than ever before. I don’t know how we’re going to cover this up.”

Levi only ignored the words, however, because the scent was filtering into his nose more strongly, something warm and earthy, like ocean beaches after a heavy rainfall, the tang of salt strong in the air. It beckoned him, called to him, and it smelled _right_.

It smelled like _home_.

Raising his head, he gave a few more tentative sniffs and then stepped forwards.

A hand wrapped around his upper arm, stopping him. Annoyed at being interrupted in his tracking, Levi whipped around to give a feral snarl.

Farlan was backing up, hands raised, Isabel peeking out from around him. They both looked a bit taken aback at his sudden aggression; Levi was usually what one could call grumpy, a bit gruff in his mannerisms and quick to insult, but he’d never actually been hostile before.

A movement and shifting of the clothes Eren had been wearing caught her eye and Isabel raised a finger. “Um… what is _that_?” she asked, silver-green eyes widening.

Turning, he saw a slight movement in the clothes Eren had left behind, the fabric shifting and a faint, deep voice reaching their ears.

Frozen in place, Levi could only watch as Farlan gave a low growl in his throat and stalked forwards. He grasped a fistful of the fabric and pulled at it, only to drop it in shock and jerk backwards.

Levi could only stare, frozen as Farlan let out a long breath and turned to them, gesturing back helplessly with a hand as if to say, _what do we do with this?_

And to that, Levi had no answer. Because it was like a veil had lifted from his eyes, his heart stuttering in his chest as his world narrowed down to one single thing.

“Oh, by the _Moon_ , Levi,” Isabel whispered in mixed excitement and horror, peering at the sight before them. “What did you _do_?”

````

His body felt strange, Eren thought, as he blinked his eyes open only to be met with permeating, suffocating darkness. His back especially felt heavy, the muscles sore and stiff. He remained still for a few moments, thoughts a bit fuzzy as he tried to remember what had happened.

Levi. Isabel and Farlan. The wildcat. The strange words, the bright flash of light and then that searing pain and sense of compression that had overtaken his whole body.

Fuck, the _sprites_. Were they okay?!

Granted, he was more of a target as a meal for the wildcat, but still, he was worried for the little creatures.

There was something heavy and suffocating surrounding him and he tried to sit up, only to feel another nauseating ache run through him. Stomach roiling and body throbbing in slowly-fading pain, Eren decided to stop trying and wait for it to pass. Distant, muffled voices that seemed strangely familiar reached his ears and he wondered if he’d passed out. Perhaps his colleagues had found him and everything with Levi had been a strange, but pleasant dream.

Scents suddenly reached his nose and Eren’s mind blanked a bit.

That was new.

He’d always had a good sense of smell, but this… it was like he could suddenly smell the forest and everything it carried with it tenfold. There were new, intriguing smells filtering in as well. One was almost sour, clinging to the back of his throat unpleasantly. It made Eren want to bare his teeth and find whatever was emanating it and rip it apart.

The other was stronger and as it hit him, Eren decided to focus all of his senses on that one. It was warm and inviting, almost dizzyingly sweet, hints of lavender, nightshade and honey wrapping around him like a caress.

Whatever was giving that off, he wanted to stick his nose in it and roll around in it for a good, long while.

The suffocating darkness lifted a bit and a low rumbling hit his ears a second before the darkness was lifted and cool night air filtered in. Hushed silence fell, the muffled voices falling quiet and the sour smell dissipated, thankfully.

Eren blinked, eyes needing just a second to adjust to the new darkness before his vision cleared.

There was a familiar blonde standing in front of him, and –

Was that _Levi_?

The sprite looked so much larger than he had before and there was the little redhead, Isabel, peeking out from behind him.

They all seemed much larger than they should be, which was very weird. It raised a few questions in his fuzzy mind but they all disappeared as suddenly, that sweet, intoxicating scent grew stronger.

Nothing else seemed important at the moment other than the fact that the source of that alluring scent seemed to be coming from somewhere close to Levi.

“Oh by the Moon, Levi,” Isabel whispered, her voice suddenly sounding much louder than it had before, ringing in his ears so clearly that he didn’t have to strain to catch it anymore. “What did you _do?_ ”

Wide, shocked silver eyes were staring straight at him with a sense of wonder and Eren felt sure that if he stared into them for long enough, he’d eventually become lost in their shimmering depths. The sprite’s wings slowly spread and gave a small flap, making Eren's eyes travel across the lithely muscled body to look at the wings waving before they were drawn back to bright silver.

Eren hadn’t really noticed before, but this close to the sprite and able to see him so much more clearly, Eren realized that Levi was absolutely _beautiful_.

“Levi?” Farlan turned, his face questioning, and then he let out a long, low groan at seeing the shocked, almost awestruck expression on Levi's normally impassive face. “Oh, no. No, no. _Fuck_ my life, tell me _it’s_ not happening.”

“Huh?” Isabel exclaimed before she twisted around to get a look at Levi’s face. “Hey, bro? _Oh_ shit, Farlan, you’re right. Oh no,” she gasped. “Levi’s _asula_ is a human?”

At the word, Levi seemed to snap out of whatever fugue had overtaken him and he looked away. Immediately, Eren mourned the loss of that silver gaze, but it helped snap him back to attention, too.

“Hey,” he croaked, getting their attention. “What happened? Is the wildcat gone?”

“Yeah,” Levi muttered and instantly, Eren’s attention was back on the sprite, taking in the way those wings shone in the moonlight. It was like his vision had sharpened, because he was able to see subtle shifts in the color that he hadn’t before, smokey, shimmering grays threading through the shining black, making Eren think of a moonlit, starry sky. “But we have other things to worry about.”

Levi strode forwards and Eren held his breath for a moment but immediately regretted it when he let it out and took a deep breath in. That absolutely intoxicating scent grew stronger as Levi came closer until the source of it, the sprite himself was kneeling awkwardly right in front of him, careful of his injured leg.

It was _strange_ that Levi was suddenly so large, such a normal size - even if shorter than his companions – but it seemed unimportant because for some reason, he just couldn’t take his eyes off of the sprite who was suddenly so, so close.

Levi reached out and Eren was sure those long, delicate fingers were going to brush against his cheek but they kept going, over his shoulder until they brushed against something unfamiliar that had Eren shuddering and drawing in a deep breath at the unexpected feel of pure bliss that surged through him.

“Eren,” Levi breathed, wrapping his hand around _something_ and tugging it forwards. “ _Look_.”

Unable to say no to that deep, smooth voice, Eren turned his head around as much as he could –

Wings. Fucking _wings_.

Snapping his head back around, he met Levi’s lovely silver eyes. His mouth opened to say something, anything, but Levi beat him to it. “They’re _yours_ , Eren.”

Maybe it was the shock, maybe it was just everything that had happened that night, but Eren felt like his mind was coming to a stuttering halt.

“Oh my god,” he heard himself say as blackness tinged he edges of his vision. “I’m a fucking _fairy_.”

The ground rushed up to meet him, and Eren, for once in his life, was glad he didn’t have to think anymore.

````

Eren's eyes rolled up in a dead faint and Levi rushed to catch him, disregarding Farlan’s muttered _oh shit_ from somewhere nearby. He laid the heavy torso down with ease and shifted to rest the head of long, messy brown hair on his thighs. Levi could still feel the shock flitting through his mind as he gazed down at Eren, watching as flanged, turquoise horns slid out from just behind his temple.

“Levi,” Isabel whispered behind him. “I think you broke him. I really don’t think humans are supposed to _do_ that.”

Levi barely heard her words, however, because he couldn’t rip his eyes off the form in front of him. He knew of the sort of magic that could cause this, but it was a distant worry in his mind.

Because the center of his world, his _asula_ , was right _here_. Eren’s scent glands were new and appeared to still be forming, but Levi could still catch the comforting, lovely scent of fresh pine, a salty ocean breeze, and sunshine that had started to emanate from them. All of Levi’s favorite smells rolled into one, and it was bliss.

The large wings hanging limply from Eren's back were a dazzling, deep aqua, shot through with layers of subtle dark blue. Even as he watched, black marks were creeping across his body, growing in opacity until they shot over his skin in alluring lines. Unlike the softer curls and waves of Levi’s own omega marks, these were sharp angles and long lines that bespoke an alpha.

And a strong one, too, if the boldness of them were any indication. Eren’s ears had sharpened, grown longer at the tips and the retractable claws that sprites all possessed had slid out to sheathe over his normal nails. Levi shared the features, but they were less prominent, softer and smaller in a way that bespoke his nature.

It was a shock to suddenly find his _asula_ like this and while a part of Levi was apprehensive, scared, there was another part that was relieved and still reeling in wonder. A bone-deep satisfaction and contentment settled into his core at the skin-to-skin contact with his other half.

There would be no hiding his nature anymore; now that he’d found his _asula_ , the tea he drank would cease to work, the glamour hiding his true nature would only ripple and fail. There was no hiding once your other half had been found, but…

The community wouldn’t have any sway over him anymore, either. Those that found their _asula_ were rare, simply because so few omegas existed and the bond between the two was revered. It was inescapable, unavoidable; alphas were protective of their omegas, those who were bonded _asulae_ even more so and it was with an almost dizzying rush that Levi realized he was, in a way, finally free.

“Holy shit,” Farlan suddenly gasped, breaking Levi out of his thoughts. “Levi, are you… are you _smiling_?”

“Shut up,” Levi snarled, though there was no bite to it. In his arms, Eren let out a small, dissatisfied murmur in his unconsciousness and Levi smoothed his fingers over the new sprite’s forehead in comfort, relieved when he settled down. “Do you know what this means?”

He looked up and over his shoulder, meeting his friends’ confused and worried gazes. “I don’t have to hide anymore. The community and their wishes are no longer a concern. They can’t keep me there or mate me off to Erwin. I’m safe. _We’re_ safe.”

“But you... you never wanted to bond,” Isabel murmured, brows drawn in confusion.

 _That’s because I’ve never met anyone worth it,_ Levi thought, but he only shrugged. “I guess even I can change,” he murmured instead. Perhaps later he’d mourn the loss of his freedom, his ability to blend in as a mere beta among the rest of the sprites in the community but right now, he just felt overwhelming relief.

“What do we do now?” Farlan asked. “Predators aren’t a worry since we haven’t seen any that would want us, but the colony will come looking for us before long. If they discover the rest of the, ah, _humans_ , that’s just going to be more of an uproar to deal with on top of you suddenly coming out as an omega.”

“You’re right,” Levi conceded. “We’ll need a cover story for him,” he murmured, trailing his fingers through Eren’s chocolate brown hair, keen eyes picking out faint, subtle notes of a deeper, earthier shade in the long strands. “Do you think he could pass as one of us? Say he’s a survivor of our old colony?”

“With those wings and horns?” Isabel snorted, fluttering her own dark black ones, shot through with veins of velvety red. “ _Definitely_ not. I’m not even sure what race of sprite he ended up as.”

That, Levi could agree with. Moonglow sprites like the three of them looked different, but there were similarities in the dark, shimmering jewel tones of their sharply angled black wings, dark, short horns, pale skin and slightly glowing eyes. The Sunlight sprites had warmer-colored skin and their wings were a brighter color, their horns larger, more intricate and possessing light golden or red tones.

The horns that had grown from just behind Eren’s temples were a fascinating turquoise color, the backs slightly flanged, almost like the fins of the exotic fish Levi had seen on one of his few trips to the ocean ages ago. They were strange, but Levi found them fascinating, running his fingers over the ridges of them, feeling how they tapered out in thickness towards the tips and backs. 

“Besides,” Farlan added, “It wouldn’t make sense. You presented before the community was razed, which meant you would have met him before.”

Levi gave a thoughtful, yet frustrated hum, wings flicking a bit in agitation before another thought came to him. “What if… we say he was a _valus_?”

“A Wanderer?” Farlan hissed, wings flaring up a bit at even the thought of one of the loners. “If that doesn’t turn the community against him, I don’t know what else will. You might as well just tell them the truth if this is the best we can do.”

 _Valae_ were notorious among their kind, though not much was known about them or their mindset. Some said they were feral and cruel, vagabonds of the worst sort, while others thought they were simply restless souls, searching for more than what the simple life of a community could give them.

Levi had always privately leant towards the latter, simply because he could sympathize with it.

But that itch had been gone ever since Eren had took him into his hands - literally. Was Eren what he had been searching for, Levi wondered, gazing down at the newly-turned sprite with pondering eyes. Had Eren’s sudden proximity sparked something in him, the magic that surged to his fingertips something long-suppressed that had allowed them to recognize what they were to each other?

 _How strange the world is,_ Levi thought, before clearing his throat. “It’s the best option,” Levi said firmly, mind already churning, thinking up a plausible backstory. “We can play off my injury. Say we were attacked by an owl and Eren helped to drive it off. He can say he was on the way to the community to formally request a safe place to rest and determine if they would accept him if he felt that it was a good place to make a refuge, much like we did.”

Even as Farlan opened his mouth to protest, Isabel was stopping him with a hand on his shoulder. Her usually exuberant eyes were shadowed with something akin to concern for Levi’s predicament.

“It’s not the most foolproof plan,” she said, “but I think, all things considering, it’s the one that makes the most sense. Right, Farlan?” she turned big emerald eyes onto the alpha and at her imploring look, he gave in.

Scrubbing a hand across his face, Farlan finally nodded. “Yeah, alright. We might have to tweak a few things and give Eren a crash course in our culture and history, but it might work. If he lacks some social niceties, him being a _valus_ will explain that.”

“Then it’s settled,” Levi said. With keen eyes, he watched as the last of Eren’s alpha markings slowly appeared on his face.

Like all of the sprites’ face markings, these ones were faint in opacity. Levi’s own omega one was two tapering, tear-like marks that hung off the bottom corners of his eyes and curled slightly around the side of his face, stopping a short distance away from the corner of his mouth. Like the markings of all omegas, it was formed to draw attention to the traits that were considered attractive by alphas. They were intended to draw attention to delicate, sharp features, full lips and rounded, heart-shaped face omegas had in common.

Eren's were bolder, settling under his eyes in a darker black in an obvious tell of his dynamic. The black appearing underneath closed eyes struck across the high cheekbones in a sharp, curving stripe, diagonal lines forming underneath it and curving off towards the edges of his face. It made the already handsome face look more angular and defined. A swathe of possessiveness surged through Levi.

He’d barely met Eren, hadn’t even scented each other properly or bonded and yet, Levi’s entire core sang as he looked at the alpha.

These new instincts brought on by finding his _asula_ were extremely interesting.

Realizing that he was wasting precious time sitting here and staring at his newfound _asula_ like a moonstruck fledgling, Levi cursed a bit to himself. He scrubbed a hand over his face roughly.

“Give me a bit,” Levi ordered, the old ring of authority slipping into his voice, back from when he had been Isabel and Farlan’s Squad Leader in the Maria Scouts. Immediately they straightened and nodded.

“We’ll be close by,” Farlan told him, Isabel having already taken off into the air. “Call when you want us to come back.”

Levi gave a noncommittal hum, his attention solely focused on Eren.

“And, Levi?” Farlan paused and Levi raised his head to look at him. The blonde looked like he wanted to say something else, but eventually he sighed, shaking his head. “Good luck. Don’t take too long.” With that, he was jumping into the air and spiraling upwards, following Isabel into the air.

Levi closed his eyes once they were left alone, attempting to gather his thoughts. It was going to be tricky to explain the situation to Eren without causing him to panic, much less the full rundown of sprite culture that Eren would have to have explained if their cover story for the alpha was to be believable.

“Hey, Eren,” Levi called softly, gently running his claws over Eren’s cheeks, tracing the intriguing new facial markings with a sharp tip. He was careful not so scratch the heated skin, knowing that the new marks that etched themselves onto the new alpha’s skin would be tender and sensitive.

Eren’s face twitched slightly in response and a low, guttural grumble emanated from his chest at protest. It was a purely alpha sound, one that was unable to be produced by another dynamic, and the startling sound and feel of it must have shocked Eren awake.

“Whaa,” Eren growled, and his eyes went wide at the unfamiliar, rough timbre of his voice. His hands reached up to touch his throat, clearing it a few times. Levi noted his vocal cords were no doubt sore; so much of Eren’s body had changed and grown that he must be feeling sore and achy.

“Eren,” Levi called quietly, adding on a soft, reassuring trill to the end of his name, one designed to soothe an agitated alpha. Eren may not have understood why, but the omega’s sound helped settle his suddenly frazzled nerves and Eren’s head twisted around for the source of that enticing sound.

Eren’s bright teal eyes shone up at him, blinking a few times in confusion.

“Levi?” he mumbled, reaching up to rub at his eyes blearily. “Everything feels off. You look so much bigger…” the alpha trailed off as he suddenly got a look at his hand, seeing the newly-minted claws dangling from his fingertips. His eyes traveled from the claws to his fingers, trailing up and growing wider as he took in the new, bold black lines streaking across his skin.

Levi winced at the helpless confusion growing on Eren’s face. He couldn’t even begin to imagine the poor man’s confusion at the sudden change in events.

Those long, tanned fingers slowly curled into a fist and then unclenched again, as if trying to process how a single appendage suddenly looked so different.

“Hey, Eren,” Levi said again, this time injecting a bit more firmness into his voice. Lost teal eyes looked up at him and while Levi was a bit unfamiliar with how to do it, he focused on letting out calming omega pheromones to ease some of Eren’s anxiety.

He knew it worked when Eren took a deep breath, large body relaxing just a bit. “I know this is confusing, but I’ll explain everything.”

“I just… don’t understand. You look different,” Eren murmured and almost as if in a daze, his hand came up to brush against Levi’s cheek, tracing the marks defining him as an omega that trailed down underneath his eyes. He was careful not to scratch Levi’s pale skin with his claws and Levi felt a thrum of satisfaction run through him. Eren was so gentle and it made his omega want to purr in delight. “Everything does, and there are all these smells… What happened?”

Levi chewed the inside of his cheek, mind churning, trying to come up with a simple explanation. “Remember when I said you didn’t have scent glands? That’s not true anymore.”

Eren stared at him for long moments, then his eyes narrowed and Levi could tell the past events were coming back to him. A myriad of emotions flitted across his face – confusion, anxiety and anger – all in a matter of moments.

“Shit,” he hissed. Eren's fresh, breezy scent changed, becoming something more like the threatening promise of a storm on the horizon in his anger.

Pushing up and back, Eren sat up, biting back the groan that started in his chest as the movement pulled at sore and aching muscles. His wings twitched feebly in an unconscious attempt to rise and Eren winced as newly formed flight muscles sent a deep ache through his entire back.

Levi scooted backwards, taking care not to put weight on his injured leg as Eren hung his head, leaning forwards to place his elbows on his knees. His eyes trailed forlornly over the new, bold marks streaking over his body. His nudity was the last thing on Eren’s mind as he scrubbed his hand through his hair, only to jerk them back as they hit the new protrusions growing from his skull. In disbelief, he followed them up, feeling their flanged backs and bumpy ridges.

Horns. He had _horns_.

His eyes cut over to Levi, who was kneeling carefully next to him and leaning on his uninjured leg. His pale face had a wary, inscrutable expression on it and this close, Eren could see the small, purplish-black horns that rose out of shiny black hair.

He’d missed them before, seeing as they blended into his hair well, but now he could see that they were short and had only a slight curve to them where they swept back from his face. A wide silver band with a dangling opal charm wrapped around the middle of the right horn, and though it was a strange discovery, Eren found it oddly charming.

Found everything about Levi oddly charming, actually, but then the memory of Levi’s hands and marks glowing followed by the feeling of compression returned to him, and anger welled. 

Whatever the hell had happened, it was caused by Levi. While deep down Eren knew what had happened, he couldn’t bear to face it.

“I don’t _believe_ this. What did you _do_?” Eren growled, surprised by the deep, displeased rumbling that started up from a spot deep in his chest.

Levi’s silver eyes widened at the sound and he leaned back a bit, wings closing up and pulling tightly back. 

It was a bit shocking to see the alpha so openly angry with him and perhaps another omega would have quailed, but… instead, after the initial, instinctual shrinking back, Levi’s temper flared at the accusing words.

“I saved your sorry ass from being chewed up and devoured by the jaguar that was about to rip you to shreds,” Levi spat, his anger born from uncertainty at their situation along with the harsh sting of having Eren so readily dismiss him. His wings spread out wide and flapped a few times, their sturdy expanse rippling and creating a sharp gust of wind.

“I didn’t do this on purpose. Fuck, _asula_ or not, I should have let it have you,” Levi hissed.

The words sparked something within Eren, and the way that previously sweet scent turned bitter and smoky in his anger made something within him roil in discomfort. He remembered the soft touch on his face, the worried expression on Levi’s and he felt a surge of anxiety as the injured sprite rose slowly to his feet, brows pinching as he put weight on his injured leg.

This may have been Levi’s doing, but considering the fact that he wasn’t jaguar food at the moment, the sprite _had_ saved him. Eren had to hear him out at the very least.

“Wait,” Eren said, resting his forehead in his hand, reaching out with the other to stop the omega. “I’m sorry, that was… it was uncalled for. I… thank you. For saving me. I’m just really confused and a bit lost. What _happened_?”

Placated a bit by the remorse shown clearly on Eren's face, Levi sighed and unfolded his arms, looking away a bit. He’d been a bit of a dick, too – this was obviously a lot for Eren to take in and Levi had to remind himself to be patient.

Eren's scent was full of confusion tinged by despair as he held his arms out to look at the bold new markings, eyes tracing them down to his chest, where they struck across his skin in thick lines. He didn’t seem to notice his nudity, and it wasn’t the first thought on Levi’s mind either.

Eren's eyebrows raised as he took in the slight bluish tint to the tips of his fingers, a confused, high-pitched mix of a whine and what sounded like a bird’s trill bursting forth. It startled Eren, making him jump a bit. Levi looked unfazed by it. His only acknowledgement was to tilt his head and regard Eren with speculation.

“ _Fuck_. Was that me?” Eren asked, tone disbelieving.

“Don’t worry about it,” Levi said dismissively, still internally debating how he wanted to go about this. “The sounds are how we communicate, especially in the air when words get lost in the wind.”

Limping forwards a bit, Levi knelt down once more, stretching his injured leg out with a wince before shifting to sit. Eren was still looking at him with an odd expression and so Levi let out a soft, reassuring coo that shifted up into a warble, imitating something akin to a nightingale, which had been a familiar sight and sound in his old community.

Eren tilted his head, eyes wide as he watched Levi’s throat bob and work as the lilting calls flowed out. When he’d finished, Eren shook his head a bit.

“God, that’s weird.”

Levi frowned, his omega upset by the fact that Eren had dismissed his melody so easily. “You didn’t like it?”

Realizing what he’d said, Eren hastily backtracked. “No, no, that’s not what I meant. More like… it’s strange that you- and I guess I – can make those sounds.” He tilted his head. “I really liked it. It’s just all so new to me.”

His ruffled feathers smoothed out for the moment, Levi’s omega preened at the compliment.

“I can only imagine,” Levi said. His eyes traveled over Eren's bared chest, trailing over the alpha markings and suddenly, Levi realized that Eren was still very much naked. “I think we should get you some clothes first, though.”

“Ah…” Eren mumbled, looking down at his naked body, then over to the large piled of clothes that had been left behind. “Do you have any spare clothing? I mean, I’m sure we can rip up my old ones and use them as a makeshift covering, but…”

“Not necessary. Besides, even if we did have any spare, they wouldn’t fit you,” Levi told him, murmuring the last bit more to himself. Looking Eren’s large form up and down a bit apprehensively to gauge his size, Levi swore. “Fuck me, you’re _still_ a giant.” And then he got a good glance between his legs. “And apparently big in more than just one place,” Levi mumbled, eyes going a bit wide.

Eren let out a choked sound at that, eyes going large at the words and Levi’s cheeks heated up at the thoughtless words he’d blurted out.

 _Shit_. He needed Eren in clothes as _soon as fucking possible_ , please.

Biting back a curse, Levi called upon his magic’s connection to the moon. He felt the familiar tingling along his marks as they started to glow and pulse with magic. It was a simple thing to create the illusion of fabric and thread, spinning a set of simple, serviceable clothes for Eren. Though he knew it wasn’t real, the way the clothes shimmered into existence and the sudden weight of them in his arms still caught him a bit off-guard.

Maybe it was because he hadn’t truly conjured anything in awhile, but even though his illusions were some of the best, Levi couldn’t remember them ever feeling quite this substantial, this real before.

Eren was staring at him in blatant shock, though Levi wasn’t sure if it was because of the way his marks had suddenly been set alight or the way clothes had suddenly appeared. Feeling a bit off-kilter at using magic so openly in front of someone new, Levi shook away his misgivings.

This was Eren, his newfound friend and even newer-found _asula_. It would be alright. Had to be alright.

“I’m a Moonglow sprite,” Levi explained, proffering the clothes to a wide-eyed Eren. “I can use all of the magics of the different races, but illusions and conjuring are what I excel at. These aren’t real, but they’ll last until either I dispel the magic or fall asleep. They might feel a bit strange because they’re technically not real, but they’ll look and feel real long enough for us to find you real ones.”

“I… that’s confusing, but I suppose I should get used to it,” Eren said with a small shake of his head. He rose to his feet a bit unsteadily, rubbing his aching shoulders with a quiet curse. Glancing over at Levi, his eyebrows raised. The top of the sprite’s head just barely reached the top of Eren's shoulders.

 _Short,_ Eren thought with a bit of amusement.

Levi leveled him with a flat look, as if sensing Eren's amusement. Still, he kept his eyes firmly at Eren's head. “You’ll have to get used to it and get over it, because you’re going to have to absorb a lot of information in a short amount of time.”

Eren paused in tugging the clothes on before hurriedly finishing and then turning to tug on the boots a still-glowing Levi offered him.

“Why?” Eren asked once he’d finished, flicking his overly long hair away from his face.

“Because we’re going back to the community, and you’re coming with.” A rueful little smile tugged at the corner of Levi’s lips. Stepping forwards, he grabbed Eren's hand and held it up for Eren to see.

Levi looked him dead in the eye and rested the fingertips of his other hand over the top of Eren's. Small, sharp claws slid out to sheathe over flat nails and Eren looked down, eyes widening as it really, _really_ struck him. 

Despite the size difference, their hands looked remarkably similar; black marks etched into their skin, fingertips tinged with color and claws dangling from them. A bit in awe, (because how the fuck had this even _happened_?) Eren looked up at the same time Levi did.

Eren swallowed heavily, unable to look away from those gleaming silver eyes as Levi flatly said, “Congratulations, Eren. Due to some _major_ cosmic fuckery, you’re now one of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My gf kept trying to get me to go to bed but I don’t think she understands that it’s fairies and I have to write this shit right fucking now, yes, we’re both gay as hell but I need to write about DICK. Ah, life.
> 
> Don’t be like me, kids. Or do, the fuck do I care, I’m not a life coach. Can you even imagine? HAH.
> 
> ….You know, in the end I think that this was all basically just an elaborate excuse to write the line, “Oh my god I’m a fucking fairy.”
> 
> You know you laughed. V out. *drops mic*


	2. The wind is steady beneath our wings; we coast on the sky's currents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And now, with those lustrous eyes on him once more, a silent question lurking in their depths, Eren knew that there was only one answer he could give.
> 
> _I’ll follow you wherever you lead._
> 
> Eren gave a little laugh, shaking his head a bit at himself. His choice had been made the moment he really saw Levi and it was like his world had narrowed down to contain nothing more than the little sprite looking at him in wonder.
> 
>  _Yeah,_ he thought. _There’s nothing more I want than to be here._
> 
> “No,” he said, his voice firm with resolve. “I want to do this. To stay here with you. I won’t lie, I’m a bit intimidated, but I can do it.”
> 
> Eren wasn’t going anywhere unless Levi was by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My girlfriend, who is allergic to bees, generously bestowed upon them the name of ‘pollen-fuckers’ and I just couldn’t not use it.
> 
> Watching her freak out when I catch "bees" and try to bring them to her is the highlight of our relationship. I’m just trying to show her my love with gifts, but I don’t think she can tell the difference between a hoverfly and a normal bee when she’s you know, running away in a panic.
> 
> Hoverflies are just flies that look like bees. They don’t have a stinger. They can’t, you know, kill her if they don’t have a death-needle on their butts. But panic does weird things to the brain, I suppose.
> 
> ...I’m fully aware that this woman is going to divorce me before we’re even married. Fuck my life.

_You’re now one of us._

It took a few long moments for Eren to process Levi’s words and then his eyes dropped to their hands. The calming, soothing scent of lavender reached him and Eren found his anxiety draining away. It was still there in the back of his mind, but it wasn’t threatening to send him into a full-blown panic attack anymore. 

Levi’s fingers slipped around his hand; they were warm and soft as the sprite rubbed his thumb over Eren's knuckles. It was something his mother used to do whenever Eren was worked up, a repetitive, calming gesture that helped cool his anger or assuage his worries. His mother would also make him lavender tea with honey whenever he was frightened and the memory flashed to his mind as the scent of lavender grew heavier, blanketing Eren's senses and making his tension melt away.

But where was it – oh.

Levi.

Levi smelled of lavender, he remembered, though Eren wasn’t sure how he seemed to be making it stronger. It was a bit weird, but the past couple of hours had been nothing but weird.

“I… is that you?” Eren murmured, eyes still a bit wide.

The scent of lavender receded a bit and Levi tilted his head to the side. He regarded Eren somewhat hesitantly. “Yes. If you don’t like it, I can stop.” The sentence sounded more like a question and there was an odd look upon the pale face; Levi seemed almost uneasy.

Nervous, Eren realized, feeling the way the sprite’s fingers slowed the repetitive stroking, starting to pull away a bit. He’s nervous, too. Maybe even scared. This is strange for him as well.

When Levi made to let go of his hand, the thought of losing that point of contact, that comforting touch made his throat close up and Eren stopped him by squeezing the sprite’s fingers.

“No, I think… I like it. It’s helping.” He took a deep breath. “Without it, I’d probably be panicking by now,” he said with a bit of a crooked smile.

Levi hummed softly at that and then a quiet rumble started in the sprite’s throat, a sort of purring croon that struck a chord within Eren. The sound combined with the sweet smell of lavender made the tension and anxiety in his body dissipate, allowing Eren to finally process things with a clearer mind.

The sway Levi seemed to hold over his emotional state was odd, but Levi appeared to be perfectly comfortable doing it. It was almost like it was natural for him. Eren had to wonder if it was something all sprites could do, wondered if eventually, he'd be able to do the same thing.

Right now, however, the most important thing was that it was helping. Levi seemed content to do nothing more than what he was already doing, so Eren decided it wasn’t worth worrying about. He could ask the sprite about it later, have everything explained to him.

Eren looked down at their joined hands, taking a closer look at them. He had to see, to force himself to look at their similarities, figure out what all had changed and face it head-on before he lost his nerve.

The omega’s fingers were long and graceful-looking compared to Eren's own thick, callused ones. His skin had been bronzed by the constant exposure to the sun, but the contrast was even sharper compared to the pale, almost luminous white of Levi’s skin. The black lines of Levi’s markings were thin and flowed over his hands and arms; the ones that adorned Eren's were thicker, bolder somehow in the way they were etched in.

The sprite’s claws were the same dull black as Eren's, but they were much shorter and smaller than Eren's own. As he watched, Levi’s claws slowly receded. They slid back over the nails and disappeared into his skin, though the slight black-purple tint of his fingertips remained. It matched the color of Levi’s horns, Eren realized. He hadn’t seen his own, but imagined that they were the same turquoise that the tips of his fingers had taken on.

Levi had remained silent, allowing Eren to process everything and for that, he was grateful. It was startling to have these changes forced upon him, but…

Somehow, Eren wasn’t quite as freaked out as he probably should be. The markings running along his skin and new additions to his body didn’t feel alien to him. Instead, as Levi’s thumb brushed over his long black claws, something seemed to click into place, the thought of _this is right_ whispering in the back of his mind.

And Levi was here with him, much to his relief. That was enough for right now.

The sprite had said Eren was one of them, that they were bringing him back with them. Levi wasn’t going to just abandon him. Eren felt a bit off-kilter, chest tightening at the thought of being alone.

He looked up, desperately searching Levi’s face for _something,_ seeking comfort and relief from the strange, seeking feeling that started growing whenever he thought of Levi _._ His eyes met silver; there was an almost soft, reassuring look in their illuminated depths that instantly made the tension drain from his shoulders.

 _You won’t be alone_ is what the sprite’s eyes seemed to be saying. _I’m here with you._

Eren took a deep breath and squeezed Levi’s fingers in a silent thanks, receiving an almost affectionate-sounding hum in return. He felt a bit shaken still, but Levi’s presence helped steady him and he no longer felt like he was going to break down. He felt okay with the other sprite close by, the sweet smell of lavender wrapping around him like a warm blanket.

There were so many complications, so many things to deal with but for right now, Eren pushed them aside. He could only handle so much. Right now, he just wanted to know what to do next.

 _One thing at a time_ , Eren thought, closing his eyes and breathing in more of that calming lavender and honey scent.

“I…” Eren's voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat, trying again. “So what happens now?” 

Levi sighed but kept stroking Eren's knuckles. “There are a few options,” Levi said softly, “but the wisest course of action at the moment is to bring you with us back to the Rose community.”

“And after? Am… will you be around?” Eren asked, almost hating the pleading tone that threatened to slip into his voice. But he had to know; Levi was one of the only ones who knew of his… former human-ness. The thought of Levi leaving him, of being parted from the sprite made a spark of panic flared to life in his chest.

Levi blinked and tilted his head in an almost inquisitive fashion. “Of course,” he said, eyebrows furrowing. He looked confused, like he didn’t understand why Eren was asking the question. “We’re _asulae_ ; it would be impossible for me to just leave you behind.”

“ _Asulae?_ I’m not familiar with the word,” Eren said, frowning. Kind of like when Levi had called himself an omega, Eren assumed it had to do with sprites but he couldn’t quite figure out what it meant in this context.

Levi’s lips parted slightly, realization flashing over his face. “Shit,” Levi whispered, pulling away and taking a step back. Eren immediately mourned the loss of the warm touch, fingers twitching with the urge to snatch it back.

Levi muttered a few curses, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I keep forgetting…”

He sighed and then glanced over at Eren, silent for a few moments in thought.

“Okay,” Levi said eventually said, words coming out slowly, like he was still working through everything he wanted to say. “I’m going to try to explain it as best I can, so just… listen.” Levi threw him an entreating look and Eren nodded, a bit relieved that at least something about this huge clusterfuck was going to be explained.

“I… I don’t know how, but when I used my magic to try to protect you, it turned you into one of us. A sprite,” Levi explained. “It shouldn’t be possible, but… here you are. We sprites have a secondary gender, a dynamic, if you will. You already know I’m an omega. Isabel is a beta, and Farlan is an alpha; you are one as well. We…” Levi paused, narrowing his eyes a bit and Eren waited patiently for the sprite to continue.

He wondered if the differences in their dynamic were what made some of their features different and what it all meant for him. Would his personality change? Or was it just a societal role he now occupied, kind of like the caste system of India?

He was proven wrong, however, a few moments later. “There’s an entirely new set of instincts that you have now because of that dynamic, and it’s going to take some getting used to,” Levi said, expression softening just a bit. “It always does after presentation; we all have to get used to it. It’s going to be especially hard for you, because you’re going to have a shorter adjustment period than the rest of us.”

“Alright…” Eren said hesitantly, trying to process everything.

“Perhaps Farlan can tell you a bit more about what to expect on our way back, but the really important part is that…” Levi bit his lip and looked suddenly hesitant. “Any dynamic can bond, but between alphas and omegas, there’s a stronger bond that occurs occasionally. We’re naturally each other’s counterparts, but _asulae_ are... for lack of a better term, they’re soulmates. Each other’s perfect match.”

The last part Levi said quietly, almost reverently. The foreign word once again sent a shiver through Eren's being and when Levi glanced up, there was a sense of wonder in those bright silver eyes, like he couldn’t believe what he was saying.

And Levi couldn’t, because of all the people in the world, how strange it was that _Eren_ had turned out to be the one made for him. Levi had never put much stock in the existence of _asulae_ , but his mother had always gotten a certain twinkle in her eye when she spoke of them, even though she had never found her _asula_.

“You’re my _asula_ , Eren. I felt it when our eyes met, after you changed. It’s part of finding one’s _asula_ ; both sprites know the moment they see each other.” Levi took a careful step forwards and placed his hand on Eren's chest, feeling the strong heartbeat underneath his hand. At his touch, it sped up a bit and Levi heard the alpha’s breath catch. “Can you feel me here?”

“I…” Eren's voice was a bit husky when it first came out, but Eren cleared his throat and tried again. “It’s strange, but… I think I do,” he said softly, voice a bit awed. A large, tanned hand came up to cover Levi’s, fingers twining around his smaller ones. Eren spoke slowly, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to do so. “When I woke up and saw you, it felt… like finding a missing puzzle piece. Like you were the only important thing in the world. The thought of you leaving made my chest ache, but having you here right now feels…”

“It feels right,” Levi murmured, closing his eyes for a moment to breathe in Eren's pine tree and ocean breeze scent, happy to do nothing more than stand here with the alpha and simply bask in his presence for the next while.

When he opened them next, the sight of their tangled fingers made a warm feeling pool in his chest, a sense of happiness that he hadn’t felt in so long.

It was strange, Levi thought to see the difference in something as simple as a hand. Eren's hand was so much larger than his, the fingers long and graceful but thick in a way Levi’s thin ones weren’t, masculine in a way that made Levi’s mouth water. Eren's new claws were longer, more wicked-looking than Levi’s shorter omega ones, meant for tearing and ripping through the flesh of those that would threaten his _asula_.

The thought sent a heady thrill through Levi, especially remembered the way he’d instinctively protected Levi from the jaguar earlier, had handled him so gently while wrapping up his injured leg.

Something hot started unfurling in his stomach, his scent glands suddenly feeling heavy and warm underneath his skin. Levi was sure his scent had intensified, grown stronger over the past few seconds. He became sure of it the moment he heard Eren take a deep breath in and a low, distinctly alpha noise started in his chest; it was a pleased, aroused croon that made Levi’s mouth dry.

“I… you smell… what are you _doing_?” Eren growled, sounding a bit unsure even as his fingers curled over Levi’s and yanked, tugging the omega closer to him. His other arm wrapped around Levi’s waist to pull him flush against the alpha’s body.

Levi was beyond words, suddenly lost in the strong, musky smell that Eren's scent had changed into, designed to lure his mate in. Unable to form words, he could only stare up at Eren through heavy-lidded eyes. Unconsciously, his head tipped to the side a bit, baring a scent gland to Eren's intense stare.

He didn’t know why, but the sight of Levi’s bared throat made his thoughts stutter to a halt, that sweet, intense lavender and honey smell fogging his senses. He barely realized he was moving them backwards, keeping Levi’s lithe, firm body pressed against him carefully, mindful of his injured leg.

Suddenly, the sprite’s back hit the wide expanse of a tree trunk and Levi’s wings flared out, flattening against his back to avoid getting folded. Eren was captivated by the sight of them. The silver veins and misty grey towards the base of them seemed to be getting brighter, gleaming brightly. When a low trill came from Levi, Eren looked down and was further enthralled.

His pale cheeks were suffused with a light pink flush and his eyes glowed a muted silver, heavy-lidded as he stared at Eren with extreme focus. One hand was still resting on Eren's chest and the other had come up to grip tightly onto the arm that was wrapped around his waist.

That heady scent was still in the air and there was an intriguing shine on Levi’s neck. Wanting to get closer to the source, Eren inclined his head and sniffed gently at the pale expanse of skin that seemed to be covered in a thin oil. It was the direct source of Levi’s irresistible scent and he breathed in deeply, nose hovering right over the skin there.

Something held him back from pushing any further, but he was encouraged when Levi tilted his head even further and made a low, throaty sound, reminding Eren somewhat of a coo.

Eren had no idea what the intriguing vocalizations Levi occasionally made meant, but given that something deep within him was pleased and excited by them and Levi wasn’t struggling or trying to resist, Eren surmised that they were a good thing.

And really, Levi hadn’t even realized he’d made them. His mind was focused on the strong, corded muscle of Eren's arm, the firm, sturdy feel of the alpha’s larger body looming over him. His neck started to feel a bit wet and Levi knew his scent glands were starting to produce pheromone-laden oils in response to the proximity of his _asula_ and the prospect of scent-marking that could eventually lead to mating.

A familiar warmth started to coil in his stomach as well, though it had been a long time since he’d truly felt it. Unbidden, his eyes slid shut as he felt the telltale wetness starting to form and threaten to drip down his thighs. A sudden, tentative touch against his neck made him shiver and let another low trill escape his lips. It elicited an answering rumble from the alpha as his nose skimmed over Levi’s scent gland, taking in the heady scent of the oils being produced.

“You smell… god, Levi,” Eren moaned. “You don’t – can I?” he breathed, hand palming at Levi’s waist almost possessively. Levi wasn’t sure Eren really knew what he was asking for, but Levi nodded anyway, unable to deny Eren anything at the moment.

Given the permission he’d asked for, Eren’s tongue immediately darted out to collect some of the sweet, pheromone-laced oils. They tingled on his tongue, making warmth suffuse his body and Eren was gripped with the desire to press his mouth closer, lap them up directly from their source.

They must be the scent glands Levi had mentioned before, Eren thought, snaking his tongue out to lave over the small gland that seemed to swell under his tongue, leaking more oil in response to the stimulation. 

Something about what he was doing should have weirded him out, Eren knew, but right now, the sweet, thick oil on his tongue and the heady scent invading his senses was the best thing he’d ever experienced. 

Levi wasn’t sure how Eren knew to do any of this, but he supposed instinct was a powerful thing; Eren was probably running purely on them now, he thought dazedly as the alpha sucked and licked at his gland, encouraging more of the sweet, intoxicating oil.

But it wasn’t enough; Levi wasn’t sure what he wanted until he locked his eyes on Eren's own neck, seeing the sheen on the alpha’s skin. Moving purely on instinct, Levi slid his hands up to tangle his fingers in Eren's soft hair, careful not to grip the sensitive horns by mistake. Among sprites, it was extremely taboo to touch them without explicit permission. They had many nerves and blood vessels running through them, making the horns a weak point; it was a line that Levi was hardwired not to cross.

Using his grip on Eren's hair, Levi guided the alpha’s neck to press against his own, pupils blowing wide as their skin touched and pheromone-laden oils started to sink into their skin. Eren made a low, throaty sound and rubbed his neck against Levi’s, making them both shudder as the sensitive glands were stimulated. A bit more harshly this time, Levi pulled Eren's neck more firmly against his own, a low croon starting in his throat as he rubbed his own against Eren's vigorously.

Their scents started to entwine deliciously and Levi couldn’t help but take a deep breath in, eyelids fluttering a bit at how perfectly the scent of lavender and the ocean combined.

“Levi,” Eren groaned into his shoulder, pulling away a bit, “I want… need to…”

Before Levi could voice any questions, Eren was swiftly bending and wrapping his fingers around Levi’s sturdy thighs, careful not to grab Levi’s injured leg even while lost in a haze of newly-awoken instincts. He lifted the omega up with ease and pressed him against the rough bark. Levi gasped as he was hoisted up and the alpha settled between his spread legs, plastering his torso against Levi’s. 

“Fuck, Eren,” Levi bit out, arousal shooting through him at the sudden rough treatment. Eren's chest was broad and firm with muscle and felt so good pressed against his own, loose fabric of his shirt pressing and rubbing against his sensitive nipples.

“Okay?” Eren rumbled, sniffing a bit at his neck to test the omega’s reaction before leaning forwards to rub their necks together once more when Levi pulled at his hair again. He was practically purring as Levi’s pheromone-laden scent sunk into his glands. Eren thought he heard Levi mutter something that sounded like _fuck yes_ before the omega shifted and wrapped his long legs around Eren's hips, tugging him closer.

And fuck, Levi was _hard_.

Hard and aroused and practically writhing in Eren's arms, it was the best thing Eren had ever felt. The enchanting creature in his arms was _Eren's_ ; bound to him on a level deeper, more spiritual and encompassing than Eren could fathom. The thought had him biting back a pleased, possessive growl and his grip tightened on Levi’s thighs, feeling the firm, corded muscle there and a pleased rumble spilled forth as the omega gasped and squeezed his hips even more.

He’d never felt like this, felt this much or this strongly before and it was overwhelming in the absolute best way. It made Eren want more, want to consume Levi as much as he wanted to be consumed by him. The desire felt a bit insane, but Eren couldn’t bring himself to care because judging by Levi’s enthusiasm, the other sprite felt the same way.

Levi’s hands tangling in his long hair felt good and he enjoyed the sharp tugs the omega gave as he yanked Eren against him harshly once more. He could feel Levi’s throat vibrating against his own, the smooth, deep voice lilting into a croon that only encouraged Eren to press his body against the omega’s more firmly. He enjoyed the way Levi cried out when he thrust his hips forward, grinding their cocks together through layers of clothing, sending a delightful wave of pleasure through him.

Levi tightened his legs around Eren's hips to hold himself steady and purred a bit when one of Eren's hands snuck up to cup his cheek gently. His thumb rubbed over Levi’s cheek, holding his head steady while the alpha rubbed their necks together.

His eyes slipped closed and he tilted his head to the side a bit; it made Eren's hand shift and a thrill of anticipation and pleasure made him moan when those long fingers brushed against his horn.

He felt Eren pause for a second before doing it again in an almost curious manner, as if testing the response to see if the horn was what caused it. His racing pulse had sent blood rushing into the already sensitive horn, laden with nerves and blood vessels despite its hardened exterior; Levi was helpless to stop the little shiver he gave when the brushing fingers touched it.

It was on the tip of his tongue to pull away, to slow them down a bit because the way Eren was thrusting against him and how he’d started mouthing at the sensitive gland on his neck was starting to edge into dangerous territory.

And then Eren reached up and wrapped his fingers firmly around Levi’s horn.

A sharp jolt went through Levi, a thrill of panic reflexively coursing through his being as he felt his muscles grow limp against his will. They hadn’t discussed the unique biology of sprites and their secondary genders yet, so Eren had no idea that in omegas, gripping the horn had a paralyzing effect, eliciting an immobility response that Levi was helpless to fight off.

The alpha gripped his thigh tighter, pulling Levi’s legs higher to wrap around a trim waist. Eren pushed closer and dipped his head down to rub their necks together more firmly, a bit desperately now. Levi jolted, his eyelids fluttering at the blissful feel of Eren's oils coating his own sensitive scent gland, the constant pressure inducing it to produce more in order to mark the alpha back.

Levi had never experienced this sort of intimacy before, never imagined it would feel this heavenly to have an alpha’s pheromones spread over his skin and sink into his gland, creating an intermingling of their scents that would linger for days. Electricity skittered across his skin and Levi knew part of it was from the aroused pheromones that Eren was emitting. The pleasurable grip on his horn was also to blame, sending endorphins racing through his body in the wake of the immobility response.

Levi felt that he could stay pressed against this tree forever, riding the high that was Eren's presence. His head lolled back and Eren let out an aroused growl, pulling back.

“You smell… fucking… shit Levi, you don’t even…” Eren murmured, teal eyes burning with arousal and nostrils flared as he scented the aroused, sweet smell coming from the omega.

Levi let out a high whine at the loss, mourning the delicious pressure against his neck and Eren returned with fervor, pressing his lips against the gland and lapping at it.

“Mmh, fffuck, _Er’n_ ,” Levi slurred, barely able to make his mouth work enough to say anything. Eren’s sharp fangs nipped at the thin, delicate skin and through the clouded haze wrapping around his mind, warning bells started going off.

Eren was playing with the gland, instinctively placing gentle bites in order to coax the thin cartilage of the gland to the surface so that he could bite through and bond them together.

Levi knew it would happen eventually, was inevitable as _asulae_ , but it couldn’t happen here. Even though his omega was keening for the alpha to do it, to bond him _now_ , it wasn’t the right time or place.

Outside of a heat, receiving the bonding mark would be agonizing and wouldn’t actually bond them together. It could only be done during a heat, but the action would surely throw him into one so it could be redone and actually take. But it wasn’t safe here; if they continued, then there would be no stopping and it Levi struggled to make this throat work, to form the words to warn Eren.

Fighting against the immobility response was damn near impossible, though, especially when Eren was gripping the horn so firmly, pressing against the nerves that triggered it. His muscles felt heavy when he tried to jerk his horn away from the loose grip, and his tongue felt like lead in his mouth as he attempted to tell Eren to let go. It was hard to think with the way Eren was pressing him against the tree, his scent and pure alpha presence enveloping Levi so thoroughly he felt as if he were pleasurably drowning.

He summoned enough strength to turn his head feebly and forced his mouth to move. Right when he was able to speak, Eren gave a particularly sharp nip to his neck and the hand holding his thigh slipped down between them to rub over the front of Levi’s trousers. It sent a jolt of pleasure spiking through him as the hand ground against his straining cock and he just barely bit back a shocked noise.

“Eren… _wait…_ ” The feeling of Eren's palm smoothing gently over him made the start of his sentence come out as a moan, cutting off when Eren's fingers tightened around his horn.

Long, tanned fingers gently caressed it and used it to pull his head to the side to expose more of his throat to hungry lips. At the sharp tug, Levi’s brain stuttered, eyes widening in shock before they slipped closed in bliss and then, his brain went completely silent.

 _What was I worried about_? Levi thought dazedly, tilting his head back in submission and gripping onto Eren's shoulders with what little strength he was able to muster. He felt unsteady, off-kilter and having Eren's warm presence there to ground him soothed his omega.

Levi could barely remember the reason he’d been so worried, either.

It was Eren, his _asula,_ holding his horn, holding _him_ and the panic fizzled out, leaving Levi in blissful euphoria. Eren wouldn’t hurt him; it went against everything in his nature to bring harm to the omega.

Levi was safe; Eren would keep him, protect him.

A languid warmth spread through Levi as endorphins raced through his body. A soft purr escaped him, half in shock and half in pleasure at how good it felt to have those warm fingers wrapping around his horn. It was nothing he’d ever experienced, this mind-blowing feeling of nothing but _good_.

Levi’s thighs tightened as much as they were able to around the alpha’s hips as Levi used what little strength he had to grind mindlessly back against Eren's hand. Low, pleased noises fell from his lips as he chased the pleasure the alpha was giving him.

Eren was muttering praise into his neck in between licks and gentle bites, warm breath washing over his over sensitized skin. “Gonna mark you up good,” Eren mumbled, hungrily licking up some more of their combined oils. He ground his palm down sharply, making Levi’s hips thrust up weakly, seeking more of the delicious pressure.

“Fuck, Eren,” Levi gasped, finally mustering up the ability to speak, though it was difficult. A thrill surged through him at the thought of his neck and shoulders covered with bruises, Eren's staked claim on display for everyone to see. “ _Eren_ , fuck, _please…_ ”

“You sound so pretty,” Eren rumbled and Levi felt warm, soft lips curve upwards against the skin of his neck in a pleased smile. “Fuck, I wanna…” Eren growled and bit down suddenly, fangs digging into the soft bit of skin just under Levi’s ear, making the omega keen. “Gonna let everyone know you’re mine, gonna finger you open nice and wide, make you scream when you come. So fucking pretty…all mine…”

Levi wasn’t sure if Eren was aware of what he was saying, lost in a haze of need and dominance with an omega’s – his omega’s – aroused pheromones thick in the air around them. Levi gave absolutely no fucks, however, as long as Eren kept talking to him in that thick, rumbling voice, kept stroking his palm over Levi’s dick like he was doing.

Levi wouldn’t be able to come from this, but unlike his first heat it didn’t make him feel desperate and frustrated. It was a languid, lazy coiling of pleasure that felt nothing but indulgent and he reveled in it. Levi felt warmth start to pool in his stomach and his thighs felt damp and slick; fuck if he wasn’t as wet as he’d ever been, Levi thought hazily, something pleasing him about being able to slick for his alpha so easily.

His fingers dug lightly into broad, muscled shoulders as Eren let out a pleased croon and shifted to press Levi more firmly against the tree, bracing the smaller body there. The thought of being held up with such ease sent a thrill through him and Levi enjoyed the casual display of strength; his weight was not insubstantial, his body heavy with hard-earned muscle and yet Eren wasn’t straining at all underneath it.

And _fuck_ if that didn’t send a dizzying surge of arousal crashing over him.

Eren's sharp canines nipped at his scent gland playfully, making Levi shudder as pure bliss washed over him. Eren's other hand left his clothed cock and Levi could have sobbed in disappointment before he realized it was sliding up to deftly flick open the buttons of his tight pants, relieving some of the pressure.

Levi moaned in relief when Eren's hand slipped into the tight confines, skirting past his hard dick and taut balls, traveling further and dipping behind them. Eren had to wriggle his fingers a bit, shift Levi up a bit more to get enough room to slide his hand comfortably into the tight pants, but it was easier than Levi would have thought. And then he realized that the wandering fingers were aided by the slick that had accumulated while they’d been rutting against the tree.

The charm on his horn waved a bit as he tilted his head back, bumping against the hard surface. The feel of cold metal made him jolt and cleared his mind for a brief moment. Something felt wrong, like they weren’t supposed to be here, supposed to be doing this, but then Eren stroked his fingers over the soft skin behind Levi’s balls and the thought fled his mind.

The skin between Levi’s thighs and behind his balls felt oddly slick to Eren. The unfamiliar feel of it made Eren's hands falter for a moment at the feeling, though his alpha was howling in pleasure at the feel of it. It instinctively knew that it meant the omega was aroused and receptive, even if Eren himself did not.

All of his sexual encounters thus far had been hushed, clandestine ones with men, though he knew women were self-lubricating. Slick coming from a man was unknown to Eren, especially as he was unfamiliar with omega biology and so he had no idea what this new substance was. Wet and a bit viscous, it felt somewhat similar to the oils leaking from their scent glands, though more slippery.

Perhaps sprites or just omegas had them on their thighs as well, he thought. Eren didn’t know enough about how their bodies worked to really know for sure, but the sweet, honeyed smell that had infused the air when he’d worked the omega’s pants open made him inclined to think it was more of that heady oil.

If anything it made his arousal spike, along with his curiosity. Levi was grinding against him, low croons and breathy gasps falling from his lips and Eren took it as an encouraging sign. Licking his lips, Eren closed his eyes and focused on the feel of slick, soft skin under his fingers and kept trailing his fingers back, stroking over smooth skin and eliciting a delectable little whimper.

Eren was hard as fuck, cock straining so hard and heavy that it almost hurt. Part of him wanted to pull his hand away and rut his hips against Levi until they both came, but a larger, more pressing part of him was so focused on the reactions he was drawing from the sprite that he spared nothing more than a passing thought for himself.

It was hard to stay focused on one thing when his mind and senses were all over the place. Levi’s entire being, entire presence was intoxicating and the alpha felt almost drunk off of it. Eren had never known it was possible for something as simple as this to feel so overwhelming, to be so wrapped up in a partner’s presence that he couldn’t think straight.

Eren felt like nothing more than a trembling ball of instincts. He wanted to dig his teeth into that pale, pretty skin, hear every single noise he could wring out of the gorgeous omega; wanted to bury himself deep into the shuddering body and lose himself so completely in the intoxicating scent and heat that he couldn’t find his way back again.

But first, he wanted to see what Levi’s pretty face looked like when he came. Needed to hear what that deep, smooth voice sounded like when it was all fucked-out and moaning. Nothing else seemed important to Eren and with that single goal in mind, he kept trailing his fingers back, petting softly as he went just to wring out more of those delightful whimpers.

Eren shifted Levi once more keeping Levi aloft by balancing him on his thighs, knees bent to brace the omega up. He enjoyed the heft of the sprite, knowing it was from the supple muscles he’d felt rippling under his hands. Levi was heavy, but Eren had always been strong and it seemed like his new alpha status had only increased that strength; he barely had to strain to keep the smaller sprite aloft.

The oil wetting Levi’s neck was sweet and heady, warming his tongue and making a pleasant haze settle over his mind. His fingers traveled back a bit more, seeking out the ring of muscle he knew would be there. Eren was running on nothing more than pure instinct, spurred on by the breathy noises Levi was making, interspersed with low moans of Eren's name and the way he’d gone so limply pliant in his arms, trembling and shifting his hips in a mindless attempt to help Eren's fingers find what they were searching for.

It was a sharp contrast to how tense the omega had been just a short bit ago, his eager wantonness a delightful antithesis to his reserved, brusque manner that he displayed to the world. It was a heady feeling, knowing he’d been the one to crumble that gruff façade and Eren sucked in a breath at the thought.

He wanted to know what Levi looked like completely broken down and he trembled in unrestrained eagerness.

His mind fixed firmly on that one thought, Eren’s sole focus became finding Levi’s entrance, intent on sinking his fingers into it and making the omega cry out in raw bliss. Levi’s skin felt almost feverishly hot against his and he sunk his teeth into the strong muscle on Levi’s neck, jaw aching with the need to bite down even harder, though Eren had no idea why.

Growling a bit, he pushed his fingers back further, finally brushing over the little ring of muscle, drawing a choked keen from Levi as it fluttered underneath his touch. It was delectably soft and alluring under his fingers, just as he’d imagined, but… it was slick and wet and suddenly Eren realized where the wetness was coming from.

Was this…?

Eren froze at the thought, shocked mind unable to put the pieces together.

The discovery was jarring enough to clear the haze from Eren's mind and he suddenly realized where they were, what they were doing. In his instinctual haze, he hadn’t truly registered the disconcerting way Levi had gone limp save for the way his thighs were locked tightly around him, fingers digging almost painfully into the muscle of his shoulders.

It was a bit unnatural, considering how active Levi had been before, thrusting back against him and pulling at his hair. It was like a switch had been flipped and it unsettled and worried him. Eren pulled his mouth away from the kiss-bruised neck and tugged his fingers away to get a better look, concerned that he’d done something wrong or somehow hurt Levi.

The omega’s pupils were blown wide, under heavy-lidded eyes, only a thin ring of glimmering silver able to be seen around the expanded blackness. His head lolled on his neck, not resisting the way Eren was pulling it to the side. His scent was sweeter than ever before in what Eren instinctively noted as submission, which was a bit disconcerting considering it hadn’t been there at first.

“Levi?” he asked, gently tugging at his horn in an effort to get his attention.

Instead of getting his attention, Levi only let out a long, languid moan at the action, eyes fluttering shut as Eren's fingers unconsciously tightened around it. He heard Eren as if through a thick filter, unable to focus on anything than the endorphins racing through him, making his body thrum in pleasure and a satiated, languid feeling sink into his muscles.

Eren was concerned at the lack of words and the strange response, to say the least. “Hey, Levi, are you alright?” he asked more insistently, getting only a contented hum as an answer. Levi looked odd, like his mind was faraway even if his body seemed very willing and the noises he’d been making were ones of enjoyment. It sent a spike of worry through Eren. Had he done something wrong?

“ _Shit_ ,” Eren cursed and was already shifting to lower the limp form to the ground when a startled shout cut through to them.

“Hey!” The word was shouted in a sharp, cutting tone and the sour smell Eren instinctively recognized as angry alpha invaded his nostrils, chasing away the sweet one of a presenting, aroused omega. Eren froze, the primal part of his mind categorizing the new presence as a threat, a challenger come to steal away his omega.

Eren turned his head, a low growl rumbling in his chest as a warning, attempting to get the intruder to back off. He instinctively hunched over Levi, intent on protecting his omega from an unknown threat.

If it came down to him or Levi, he’d always choose protecting the sprite over himself, Eren knew.

It wasn’t only his instincts demanding it; it was just the type of person Eren was. He’d always choose the safety of the people he cared about over his own well-being, and to say he cared about Levi was an understatement. For someone he’d met just a short while ago, Eren was already wholly enamored with him, craving Levi’s presence, his voice, his touch with every fibre of his being.

 _Shit_ , Eren thought a bit dazedly. He stared down at Levi’s pale face, practically vibrating with the overwhelming need to keep Levi safe, bristling with anger at the intruding alpha’s confrontational scent. _I’m so fucking_ gone _over him already._

Eren saw Levi try to tilt his head as the alpha’s – oh right, it was Farlan, Farlan was a _friend_ \- angry scent reached them. Levi’s fill lips parted and he tried to say something that was no doubt reassuring, but all that left his lips was a faint, incomprehensible murmur.

With a flutter of dark, red-lit wings, Isabel landed next to Farlan and her eyes widened as she took in the sight.

Levi being pressed up against the rough bark of a tree was surprising enough, but her eyes locked onto Eren's firm grip of the short, dark horn and the situation suddenly became very clear. Eren was positively bristling as he curled around Levi protectively, no doubt in response to the angry scent Farlan was giving off along with the confrontational body posture.

She blew a heavy breath out through her lips.

Let Levi off the tea for _one_ night and he was already succumbing to his instincts. He’d been suppressed for too long and even someone as strong-willed as Levi could fall prey to the baser needs and desires of his dynamic. Clearly, neither Levi or Eren had been able to resist the urge to scent-mark each other and it had gotten out of hand.

Though, it wasn’t like Levi could really talk or explain things once Eren had taken hold of his horn.

Omegas really got a bit screwed over in that regard, Isabel thought, placing her hands on her hips. It was part of the reason omegas were watched over so closely; it took but the blink of an eye for them to be rendered immobile and trapped, stuck with a bondmate they didn’t want.

The situation could be worse, she supposed. Eren wasn’t going to hurt Levi; it was obvious that the gentle, kind former human was enamored with him. He might hurt Farlan, though, she thought, seeing the way the blonde’s claws slid out, wings flaring as Farlan took in the sight of his incapacitated friend.

With Levi unable to talk and the two alphas eying each other like angry jungle cats, it fell to Isabel to be the mediator. Making her posture as small and non-threatening as possible, she held up her hands and moved cautiously towards Eren. She made sure to exude a neutral, calming scent and let out a bright chirp to get Eren's attention.

When narrowed teal eyes slid over to her, she gave a bright smile, noting the way the alpha’s tense body relaxed a bit. She laid a hand on Farlan’s arm and the blonde immediately snapped out of the angry haze that had overtaken him. His scent immediately calmed and as it faded, Eren blinked, shaking his head slightly.

“Hey, Eren,” Isabel called, eyes wary and locked onto the firm grip he had on Levi’s horn. “I know you weren’t aware and it’s okay, but you need to let go of Levi’s horn. He can’t move with you holding it like that. It’s physically impossible for him to.”

What?

Eren turned his head, seeing that the omega hadn’t moved at all, even with his companions suddenly returning and the bitter smell of angry alpha hanging thick in the air. His fingers twitched feebly against Eren's shoulders, relaxing their tight hold just a bit and his lips parted, as if he wanted to say something.

Suddenly, Eren felt horrified at himself.

Had he… oh god, had he _hurt_ Levi?

It didn’t look like Levi was in any sort of pain but the thought was enough to make him let go of Levi’s horn as if burned. The omega blinked slowly up at him, eyes heavy-lidded and dazed. His head rolled to the side, straightening a bit and Levi licked his dry lips.

He still seemed out of it, but as soon as Eren had let go, some of his strength seemed to come back, proving Isabel’s words right.

With almost desperate movements, Eren shifted Levi, holding him up as he stepped back from the tree. Eren knelt down, setting the omega down carefully and propping him up gently against the solid trunk. With one hand wrapped around Levi’s waist to prevent him from sliding to the side, Eren reached around to carefully unwrap the omega’s legs, setting them softly down onto the grass.

He heard Isabel and Farlan’s footsteps quickly approaching them and realized the omega’s pants were still hanging open. Eren bit his lip and reached out, using his body to shield Levi from sight as he hastily adjusted and rebuttoned the trousers, straightening up the omega’s appearance.

A soft touch came at his arm and he turned his head to find Isabel behind him.

“Is… will he be…” Eren struggled to get the question out, but was stopped when Farlan appeared next to Isabel, though he kept his distance a bit as Eren's lip twitched, threatening to curl upwards in an instinctual snarl.

“Levi is fine, just a bit out of it,” Farlan reassured him. “He’ll snap out of it soon, I promise.” He eyed Levi’s limp, relaxed form critically, squatting down to take a closer look at the omega’s blown pupils. “Wow, I’ve never actually seen this happen, but I can see why it’s dangerous.”

The cryptic words made Eren completely disregard the assurances he’d been given and the sour tang of his panic reached their noses. It even made Levi’s nose crinkle a bit and his wings lifted weakly before dropping back down to hang at his sides.

“It’s okay Eren,” Isabel soothed, a low, calming croon coming from her as she moved closer. “Our biology is completely different than what you’re used to. I’m sure Levi doesn’t hold it against you.”

Obviously the omega could hear, even if he was still looking a bit out of it because he gave a slow nod. He looked able to move a bit now though, which helped Eren calm down somewhat and bring him back from a full-blown panic attack.

“S’okay,” he slurred, tilting his head to regard the alpha through lowered eyelashes. “You didn’ know.” There was a serene look on his face that Eren felt was odd and even his wings were drooping a bit, both sets waving in lazy, sluggish motions. Eren thought he looked almost high, especially when he gave a long, contented sigh.

“What _happened_?” Eren asked, a bit desperately, twisting to gaze at Isabel a bit frantically. He needed to know what exactly had happened so he could avoid doing it again. Seeing Levi like this sent his instincts into a worried, downwards spiral. “What _was_ that?”

“Our horns are extremely sensitive,” Farlan supplied, shifting closer to kneel next to them. He placed a tentative, reassuring hand on Eren's shoulder. “The horns of alphas and betas are a bit different, but in an omega like Levi… holding or biting them hard like that presses on nerves that trigger an immobility response. It renders them physically paralyzed and floods them with uh… happiness? I guess is the best term for it. You basically drugged him when you did that.”

“Oh god,” Eren whispered, horrified at himself. He sat back, hands fluttering up, wanting to reassure Levi, help in some way. He dropped them after a second, fearing he’d only make the situation worse and let his head hang forwards. “I’m so sorry.”

“S’alright, Eren. Was necessary. Kinda,” Levi told him, voice still sounding a bit faraway but gaining a bit more strength, the slurred, dreamy quality starting to leave it.

“Necessary for me to push you up against a tree and nearly maul you?” Eren hissed, seeing the hint of purple bruises and kiss-marks starting to form along the smooth white column of Levi’s neck, swearing as he saw a bit of blood from where he’d sunk his fangs in a bit too deep. “Fuck!”

“Actually,” Farlan said, careful to make his body language as non-confrontational as possible upon seeing how distressed the other alpha was, “it’s perfectly normal, and it does help our story. Scent marking is a perfectly natural and expected behavior between a courting alpha and their chosen omega or beta. If we went back and you two hadn’t scent marked each other, it would be viewed as extremely strange, especially given that you are _asulae_.”

“Your guys’ bond is much stronger than a normal couples’,” Isabel chimed in, giving Eren a wink. “It’s kind of expected that your courtship and everything it entails is going to be fast.”

Eren still looked unconvinced, but at least the bitter, despairing scent had started to retreat and was quickly on its way to returning to the comforting scent of sunshine and ocean breezes.

Levi gave a slow shrug, looking a bit more coordinated now. His eyelids were starting to rise with each passing second and his words were clearer when he spoke this time. “This is new to you, there’s no reason you should’ve known,” he sighed, then blinked, eyes wandering down to Eren's hands, remembering how easily Eren had been able to pull his head back while gripping them. “ ‘Sides, I bet they make convenient handholds,” he added on a bit slyly.

Farlan just rolled his eyes as Eren stared at him in shock.

What had he _done_ to Levi?

“By the Moon, Levi,” Farlan sighed, propping an elbow on his knee and resting his chin on his hand. He looked fond, yet somehow exasperated at the same time. “You’re as fucking high as a bee right now.”

“Sure feels like it,” Levi said lazily, one corner of his mouth curling up in a sleepy smile. “Didn’t realize how good those little pollen-fuckers have it.” He raised his arm and made a grabbing motion at Farlan’s horns in an almost playful gesture. “Lemme grab on and you’ll be on your ass, too.”

“No thanks, I already know what it’s like,” Farlan retorted, ducking his head to avoid Levi’s weakly grasping hand, a chuckle escaping him despite himself. Eren eyed him and Farlan caught his glance and jerked his head at Isabel, who gave him a smug smile in return.

Levi only wrinkled his nose, well aware of what his two bonded friends got up to when alone.

“Fucking gross,” he muttered, then gave a little shake of his head. His strength was coming back rapidly but his mind was still a bit slow, a languid feeling seeping through him. “Shit,” he said, blinking more wakefully now, “I didn’t know _this_ would happen. Fucking weird.”

Eren still looked worried, teal eyes wide as they assessed him, and Levi could practically feel the worry pouring from his alpha. He could definitely smell it, at least.

“Hey,” he said, words soft. “I’m alright, I promise. Just don’t go grabbing that around others, alright?”

Eren bit his lip, still obviously a bit distraught, but he nodded. “Yeah, I swear. I’m sorry, Levi.”

“I swear to the fucking _Moon_ \- stop apologizing and just help me up, idiot,” Levi sighed. “We’ve wasted a lot of time and still need to make it back.” Even as he said it Levi blinked, eyes assessing Eren, the way his wings still drooped. “Shit, I didn’t realize… you probably can’t fly yet.”

Farlan and Isabel’s eyes widened as well and they turned an assessing gaze to a suddenly very uncomfortable Eren. The alpha shrugged a bit and his wings gave a little twitch, as if they wanted to flap at the sudden scrutiny.

“Ah, I haven’t really even tried. My back aches a bit and they feel… I don’t know, just unfamiliar. I just grew two new limbs, okay?” he defended as he reached down to offer Levi an arm.

The sprite took the proffered arm and let Eren help pull him up. Eren's arm was warm, the corded forearm firm under his touch and Levi felt his cheeks warm as Eren pulled him easily to his feet in a casual display of strength. It was hard to keep his scent tamped down as the reminder of how easily Eren had been able to manhandle him made it threaten to spike in want, but Levi managed.

His legs were still a bit weak and his injured leg throbbed a bit as he steadied himself. He hissed just a bit as his knee twinged, sore and irritated from being bent for so long and squeezing so tightly around Eren.

Levi thought about healing it just to get it over with, but he wasn’t sure how serious the damage was to it and so he held off. He’d rather get it looked at by Hanji first to confirm that it was nothing more than a strained muscle or tendon. If something was broken and he healed it while set wrong, it would only cause painful complications; it also gave some credence to their made-up story about meeting Eren.

“Well, you’re going to have to get used to them fast,” Levi said, shifting to take the weight off his leg with a small sigh. He gave his own sets a testing flap, pleased when he was able to shake off the lingering weakness with relative ease. “The community is too far to walk to and it’s impossible to climb up to it.”

“Oh.” Eren blinked and then looked around, his eyes drifting to the tees that towered above them, even their bottom branches impossibly high. Yeah, there was no way he was climbing to even the lowest one. “I keep forgetting I’m smaller.”

Levi just gave a noncommittal hum as he stalked a bit stiffly around to Eren's back, giving the large aqua-colored appendages a thoughtful appraisal. He threw his mind back to the days when he was learning to fly, though it had been so long ago that the memories were a bit blurry. Even though he was just entering the prime of his life, sprites lived so long that even while considered young by their standards, he felt somewhat old.

“First thing is seeing the state of your flight muscles,” Levi informed him, stepping closer with a bit of a wince. “This might feel weird. If you feel the need to and can move your wings, do so. It will let me get a better feel for what I’m working with.”

Eren wasn’t prepared for how Levi’s long, thin fingers felt upon his wings. They were surprisingly sensitive and the warm touch trailing over them sent a shiver through him. If Levi noticed, he didn’t say anything; just kept up that gentle, questing touch.

With Levi silent behind him, Eren felt in need of a distraction and so he grasped onto the first thing he could think of.

“So, why does Levi have two sets of wings?” Eren threw the question at Isabel and Farlan, who were lounging on the grass and watching Levi work. The omega gave a small hum to let Eren know he’d heard, but unwilling to be distracted from his work, he decided to let his friends answer. “We only have one.”

“Omega trait,” Farlan supplied as Isabel plucked the tip off of a gently waving blade of grass and stuck it in her mouth. “The bottom set is a bit more delicate and lets them direct air currents with more precision, while the top set is a bit thicker and helps them maneuver.”

Levi paused momentarily in his examination to elaborate, flapping his wings a few times in thought. They’d been taught as fledglings about why his dynamic had double the sets that the others did, but it was never something he’d given much thought to. It was simply a part of him, as much as his magic and horns were.

“It lets me fly with more speed and agility,” he told Eren after some thought, eyes narrowing a bit as he took a closer look at the way Eren's flight muscles moved when the alpha’s wings unconsciously twitched under his hands. “If I remember right, it’s to help us escape danger, because omegas are weak and need protecting at all times.”

A short, surprised laugh escaped Eren at Levi’s deadpan, sardonic delivery of the last sentence. Recalling the strength in Levi’s hands and thighs, Eren knew that when it came down to sheer force, Levi was the last person that seemed in need of protection.

“You definitely don’t seem weak.”

Levi’s eyes widened and an involuntary trill that settled into a faint purr escaped his throat before he was able to tamp it down. Eren thought he was strong? The thought pleased him, made his omega writhe in pleasure.

At the sound, Isabel let out a sharp, delighted laugh. “That was _definitely_ the right thing to say. Congratulations, Eren, you just permanently ended up on Levi’s short list of sprites he likes.”

Levi only rolled his eyes at Isabel, refusing to rise to her bait. Instead, he poked at a nerve in Eren's wing to see how responsive they were.

When it suddenly jerked up and Eren let out something akin to a squeak, Levi was pleased. They were fully functional and alert, then, not the sluggish, unresponsive wings of a fledgling.

“He was already there, Iz,” Farlan replied and at his tone, Levi lifted his head and fixed his gaze on his two companions. Farlan’s voice was light with a teasing lilt and Levi had kicked him for the things he’d said when he got this way multiple times in the past. “At least, I’d hope so, considering they’re going to be together for a _long_ time and soon gonna be fu-”

“Oi. Finish that sentence and _you_ definitely won’t be anymore,” Levi said lowly, silver eyes narrowing in a silent threat. _There it was._

Farlan immediately shut his mouth and Levi snorted. “Not so high and mighty now that I’m not high off my ass,” he muttered, before raising his voice. “From what I can feel, your flight muscles are fully developed and are in good condition. You’ll be able to fly, though it might ache a bit.”

He pressed his palm against one of the firm, solid flight muscles and gave a low hum of appraisal when Eren hissed between his teeth.

“The community isn’t that far away, luckily. You’ll have to fight through that long enough to get there and then we’ll work slowly on building your endurance once everything is settled. Can you do that, Eren?” His voice was pitched low and he gave Eren a serious, firm look when the alpha looked over his shoulder at him.

It wasn’t a real question, more of a confirmation to make sure Eren understood what was going to be required and he seemed to know that. The alpha took a deep breath and gave a short nod. “Yeah. I’ll do what I need to in order to make it. I’ve been through worse.”

Levi wanted to ask what had happened in Eren's life to make him say that, but he bit the question back. They’d have plenty of time later to tell each other about their lives; the whole rest of them, in fact. “If we leave soon, we’ll be able to take short breaks along the way to give your muscles a rest.”

When Eren opened his mouth to protest, Farlan interrupted. “We make flying look easy, but we’ve had our entire lives to build up our endurance. They’re supporting your entire weight, Eren. Typically, fledglings can only fly for a short period of time a few times a day until they build up their strength and stamina. Your muscles may be strong, but they’re new and untested; you’ll be going further on your first flight than anyone has before. Trust us.”

Eren frowned and Levi thought he was going to argue but surprisingly enough, the alpha simply nodded, jaw set. Levi had a feeling Eren would simply try to prove them wrong with actions. He was certainly intrigued by how far Eren would push himself and would let him to a point, but he also wouldn’t let the alpha exhaust or hurt himself on the way.

Getting Eren to safety was of more concern to him than his _asula_ trying to prove a point. Levi held these thoughts to himself and dipped back around to assess Eren's wings.

“I’m no parent or flight instructor, so I’m going off of what little I can remember,” Levi said as a precautionary warning. “Are you ready, Eren?”

The alpha nodded, his jaw set with determination and his shoulders straightening. Levi had to suppress the trill of approval he wanted to give and instead set his feet. The tip of Eren's wing was above his head, far too high for Levi to reach, and the bottom reached just below his knee. Taking a middle-ground approach, he carefully took hold of the wing just below Eren's shoulderblade, feeling the thick, warm surface pulse with blood underneath his hands.

The wing twitched a bit at his touch and Levi knew it was a strange experience to have others touch one’s wings. They weren’t anything like horns, but wings were still sensitive, located in a vulnerable spot. It was extremely impolite to touch them without permission.

“I’m going to help you raise them up and guide the movements you should be making,” Levi told Eren, leaning a bit to place his other hand on a spot near Eren's hip. “Would you prefer Farlan or Isabel to hold the other?”

Eren shrugged a bit at the question. “Either is fine. Why would it matter?”

It was Farlan who came around to Eren's other side, taking hold of the soft wing in a firm, yet gentle grip. As an alpha, he was stronger and would be able to hold the deceptively heavy appendages up for longer.

As Isabel moved in front of Eren to help him as a sort of coach and direct him, Farlan explained, “It can be unsettling to have another alpha behind you, especially when you don’t know them or you’re in an unfamiliar, unsafe place like this. It’s a vulnerable spot. If I were to attack you, it’d be hard to defend yourself.”

“Oh. I suppose. I do trust you, though. You have no reason to attack me, so I don’t feel threatened at all.” The amount of faith Eren had in his friends so shortly after meeting them was touching to Levi.

Eren was so different than the other alphas he’d come to know, save for Farlan, and Levi felt extremely lucky that out of all the sprites (ex-human or otherwise) it could have been, Eren had turned out to be his _asula_.

“That’s good,” Farlan said, shooting Eren a friendly smile, though the other alpha couldn’t see it. “Don’t hurt Levi and we’ll keep it that way.”

Eren only chuckled at that and Levi bit back the surge of annoyance at the words. “If we’re quite done discussing my honor, I’d like to get you idiots back to the community sooner rather than later,” he snapped.

“Aye, aye, Captain,” Eren joked, and Levi stiffened at the old title before shaking it off. It didn’t escape his friends’ eyes, but Levi gave a subtle shake of his head. Now wasn’t the time to dredge up old memories and it seemed like it was just a human saying.

“Alright. Farlan, follow my movements,” Levi said, the old ring of authority coming back naturally as he directed the other sprites. “Isabel, try to help him. Turn around and let him see how the muscles should move. Eren, we’re going to help you move your wings, but I need you to move them as well; we won’t be doing much other than guiding you into a rhythm and helping you coordinate them. They need to be synchronized, or you’ll wobble or worse, fall out of the air.”

He nodded to Farlan and they helped Eren raise his wings to where he’d naturally hold them once he was able to control his muscles. “Ready?” Levi asked, watching with a keen eye as Eren set his jaw and widened his stance in preparation.

“Yeah. Ready.”

“Okay. Go.” Slowly, Levi stretched out the wings and moved them in, Farlan following him in a mirrored movement until their hands were almost touching, then slowly moved them out until they were lying flat against Eren's broad back.

The alpha gritted his teeth and Levi could feel the wings coming to life under his hands as more blood pumped through them. Strong back muscles rippled and flexed as Eren held true to his word and focused on getting a feel for the slow, steady flaps Levi and Farlan were guiding him through.

“That’s good!” Isabel praised, giving him a bright, encouraging smile. “Focus on keeping them lifted up; that’s going to be the most important part. You need to hold them up straight and away from your body, like this.” She turned and the open back of her shirt allowed Eren to see how her own flight muscles shifted. She demonstrated how she held her own wings aloft, poised almost delicately behind her and then gave a few slow, deliberate flaps.

God, she made it look so effortless and it pissed him off; not at her, though. He admired Isabel’s graceful movements, the obvious strength in her muscular, lithe back. Instead, Eren was frustrated by the inability to use his own wings without having to strain and concentrate.

Eren gritted his teeth, brows furrowed as he concentrated on the muscles connecting his wings to his body and then the wings themselves. Like he’d thought, they were sturdier than a butterfly’s wings, much more flexible with intricate, delicate muscles and numerous blood vessels running through them. If he concentrated, he could no doubt curl and twist the wide expanses of the wings in various ways, but that was a goal for later.

Right now, he was focusing on moving them in synch, following the gentle push and pull Levi and Farlan guided him through. At first, the thought of Levi’s fingers upon his wings had threatened to become distracting, but Levi’s touch had been clinical, his voice firm with the air of an instructor and Eren had immediately stilled and listened.

They didn’t really hurt and while he felt a bit stiff, Eren was confident that he’d be able to fly soon enough – and that was a strange thought in and of itself.

As a human, the thought of flight had been nothing but a passing, fanciful thought; he knew humans would reach the air eventually. They might even do so in Eren’s lifetime at some point but for right now, humans were firmly grounded. They had to rely on the land and ocean for transport.

Flapping his wings was more a matter of always being conscious of the movements he was making; making sure to keep them synchronized, bringing them out and then in at the same moment in a repeated motion. Eventually, it got easier and he eventually began to think of his wings as a single entity, rather than two separate appendages.

As focused as he was, Eren didn’t notice when Levi gave Farlan a silent signal to remove a hand. It forced Eren to find the rhythm on his own and work his muscles harder now that some of the support had been lost. Eren never faltered, however, so engrossed in his task that he failed to notice when the two sprites stopped holding his wings up altogether.

Soon, they were doing nothing more than keeping a single hand on his wings to make sure Eren was still following a rhythm with both of them. Not long after that, Levi removed his hand entirely and Farlan immediately followed.

Levi watched Eren continue to flap his wings with an assessing gaze, noticing when he increased the speed as he gained confidence, so focused on the task he hadn’t noticed the two sprites step away. A quick glance at Farlan and an approving nod from the alpha had Levi’s body relaxing in relief.

It might take a couple tries and it would be a slow journey, but Eren would be able to fly.

Silently, Levi circled around until he stood in front of Eren, arms folded. The alpha’s eyes were closed, brows furrowed in concentration. Isabel sidled up beside him and gave him a thumbs’ up, beaming as she did so.

 _Yes_ , Levi thought, a swell of pride going through him, _Eren is doing very well_.

Silently, he stepped forwards. “Eren,” Levi said softly, reaching out to lay a hand on his cheek, “I think you’ve got it. Well done.”

Eren's eyes snapped open and his flapping came to a stuttered halt. With approval, he saw that Eren's wings didn’t droop at realizing he’d lost the guiding hands. Instead, they stayed held up elegantly just as Isabel had showed him.

Eyes widening in disbelief, Eren twisted around, getting a good eyeful of his wings that were still raised and spread. It was the first time he’d really seen them, Levi realized, and the alpha’s eyes traveled over the expanse of the oceanic aqua color and dark blue veins and border.

“Wait, did you-”

“We stopped awhile ago,” Levi told him truthfully. “You’ve been doing it by yourself for the past bit.” A bit of his pride leaked into his words at the end and he saw Eren's lips twitch up a bit at the wordless praise. Slowly, Eren curled a wing inwards to look at it a bit more closely. He held a hand out and stroked his own wings, lips parting at the feel.

“They’re soft,” Eren marveled, “like a mixture of velvet and silk. And… they’re pretty.” He breathed the last part, as if afraid of sounding vain.

“They are,” Levi agreed, finding himself entranced by the rippling aqua hue and shining streaks of sapphire. In certain lights, it almost seemed like they had a bit of a deep emerald undertone, but it was a bit hard to tell with the pale light of the moon washing the warmer undertones out.

Levi’s night vision let him see perfectly in the dark, but everything was tinted slightly differently for him; he was able to see all the normal colors but they appeared in cooler tones. “They’re lovely. The colors suit you.”

Levi didn’t know what velvet or silk was, but he could imagine the texture based on what he’d felt of Eren's wings. His own were smoother than Eren's, a bit slippery in order to prevent hands from grabbing onto them if he needed to escape.

Alpha’s wings were softer, designed to protect and comfort; a small part of Levi could already imagine being enveloped by them, knowing instinctively it would be a comfortable place to rest.

Eren watched the way the veins of blue seemed to ripple as he gave the first tentative curls and twists of his wings, testing the flexibility. As endearing as it was to watch Eren discover the limits of his wings, Levi knew the sky would be getting lighter soon; they had to move on.

“I think it’s time we try them out,” Levi said, and at his quiet words, Eren whipped his head around. A mixed expression of apprehension and excitement suffused his face at the thought. and Levi thought he could understand.

Flying was second nature and part of who he was; he felt completely at ease in the air but as far as Levi knew, Eren had been grounded his entire life. This was completely new. Levi flapped his wings a few times, hopping up lightly to hover in the air in front of Eren.

“Hurry up and follow me,” Levi said, not missing the way Eren's eyes locked onto his back, a sense of wonder on his face as he took in Levi’s fluttering wings. For some reason Eren's eyes always seemed to be drawn to his wings, taking them in with wide eyes; it reminded Levi of a fledgling after their first flight, eyes large and shining wonder.

Eren's gaze held a similar wonder, though it confused Levi. Flicking his eyes over to Isabel and Farlan, taking in their deep crimson and dark sapphire wings respectively, Levi couldn’t see how they differed. Their wings all shared similar patterns, light with color in the middle, darkening towards the edge with threads of color streaking through the ink-blank expanse.

Eren didn’t know this and yet he still stared at Levi’s wings like they were something awe-inspiring. Perhaps, Levi mused as he turned away, it was simply because he had four wings and it was simply an unusual sight. Omegas were the only creatures that Levi knew of, sprite or otherwise, that had that trait.

Either way, while being the focus of interest left Levi slightly awkward, being treated to such a look from his _asula_ made his omega purr, preening at the attention.

“Ah, where are we going?” Eren asked, dragging his eyes away from the glimmering wings with difficulty.

The two sets beat through the air in perfect synchronization and Eren was able to detect subtle hints of silver swirling through the inky expanses that he hadn’t been able to pick out as a human. But now, seeing them up close…

It was like the stars had fallen and been caught up in Levi’s wings, faint hints of milky galaxies glinting in the moonlight. Levi was absolutely gorgeous, Eren thought, a swell of pride blooming within him.

Levi was _his_.

“Oi! Pay attention, Eren!” Levi smacked him on the side of his head and Eren inhaled sharply at how close the omega had suddenly gotten. The scent of lavender and honey was strong, but underneath that… it was faint, but Levi smelled like _him._

Eren had to bite back the proud flap of his wings and the throaty, possessive sound that threatened to escape; he forced himself to listen to Levi. “We’re going to find a perch for you to try gliding off of. Trying to take off directly from the ground is going to be too difficult for you at first. Follow me.”

With that, Levi turned away once more and flitted away, gliding through the air smoothly. Grumbling a bit, Farlan and Isabel rose and followed Eren, walking alongside him on the ground instead of taking to the air. In a way, Eren appreciated it; it would have been awkward to be the only one having to follow along on the ground.

Ahead of them, Levi was hovering near a plant, gliding lazy circles around it appraisingly. The stem was thick and the leaves were wide and strong-looking. It wouldn’t support all of their weights, but it would hold Eren nicely. He could start from the bottom leaf and climb up as he grew more confident.

Soaring back to Eren, he flapped in a lazy circle while pointing at the plant. “This one will do. We can start from the initial leaf and get you gliding first, let you feel what it’s like to be airbourne.”

Eren nodded and as they reached the plant, Levi descended a bit and held out a hand. “Wings up,” Levi reminded him as Eren took the proffered hand, noticing they were starting to hang and drag a bit.

“Right,” Eren said, immediately lifting them. Levi gave a pleased hum and beat his wings a bit harder to pull Eren up, lifting him right off the ground with ease. The alpha gave a bit of a yelp as he was jerked upwards. Levi tugged him up to the leaf and made sure his feet were steady on the surface before letting go.

“Fuck, you’re _strong_ ,” Eren said, shaking his head a bit and smiling up at Levi. The wondering gaze was back in those bright teal eyes, making a low purr threaten to build within his throat. “You lifted me so easily.”

Levi shrugged, having to fight back the bit of pinkness threatening to rise in his cheeks. He let a small smirk twist his lips up instead; it wasn’t the first time he’d been underestimated, but the fact that his alpha seemed so impressed by it, _liked_ it made the purr harder to push down.

“I’m a bit of an unconventional omega, I suppose,” Levi said, eyes narrowing as he took in the distance to the ground and then Eren's large wings, debating how to best go about this flying lesson. “Now, focus up.”

Levi slowed his flapping, allowing himself to descend until just the tips of his feet were touching the leaf. He lowered himself a bit more, testing how much the leaf could hold, and when it barely moved under his weight, Levi felt confident it would hold both of them.

He let himself drop fully onto it, keeping most of the weight off his left leg as he did so. The leaf’s stem trembled, but Levi had settled onto it gracefully enough that it was barely noticeable. Levi closed his wings behind him to avoid hitting Eren in the face and nodded for Eren to step up to the edge of the leaf alongside him.

“Gliding is fairly easy, but to do it well,” Levi started, “you need to feel the air currents and adjust your wings to catch the updrafts to keep you aloft. You want to ride them, coast along them.” Placing a hand on Eren's back and skimming them over the wings, gently pushing them into position, he instructed, “You’ll step off with your back bent and as soon as you do so, you want your body to be parallel with the ground, but not stiff. You need to flow with the currents. Raise your wings and spread them, curling the edges towards the ground.”

Stepping back, Levi pushed off, angling his wings to catch the currents, demonstrating what Eren was to do. Before he reached the ground, he twisted and flapped his wings, soaring back to Eren's side.

The alpha was watching him keenly, his own wings shifting a bit as if to mimic and test out the motions himself, much to Levi’s approval. He’d been listening closely and seemed to have good instincts; his wings were curling a bit already, raising and tilting in the way Levi’s had.

“If you feel yourself losing altitude, flap slowly and steadily in the motion that we showed you before,” Levi finished.

Eren's brows were furrowed in concentration as he listened to Levi’s smooth, deep voice relaying instructions. He was easy to listen to and despite Levi’s earlier disclaimer, Eren thought he made an excellent instructor. Under that generally brusque, somewhat gruff demeanor, Levi was patient, his words steady and hands confident as he guided Eren's body into position to demonstrate what he should do.

“Got it?” Levi asked, his voice softening a bit as he looked at Eren inquisitively.

“Yeah,” Eren said sturdily, stretching his wings out and testing the way they curled at the edges. It was strange to feel all the new muscles he had to work with, but it felt surprisingly natural as well.

Now that they were off the ground, Eren could feel the subtle, faint air currents. As a human he wouldn’t have noticed them, but he was small enough now that he could feel even a slight current brushing over his skin like a breeze. He tilted his wings around a bit, intrigued at the way he could feel the air flowing over them.

It seemed as if the skin of his wings were extraordinarily sensitive to the small changes of the wind currents and air pressure. Eren closed his eyes and let the air wash over them, getting a feel for the way it felt.

Already Eren could feel what Levi meant about curling his wings; when he did it, he could feel the faint breeze start to catch and start to pull upwards at him.

“Good,” Levi said lowly from behind him; he’d backed off a bit to avoid getting a faceful of dark blue wings when Eren had spread and tilted them. “Can you feel what I mean?”

“Yeah,” Eren nodded, excitement suddenly surging through him, threading into his voice. “ _Yeah_ , I can feel it.” He could do this; he was going to _fly_.

A low, breathy sound came from behind him and with a jolt, he realized it was Levi’s laugh. It was quiet enough that Eren almost missed it, but hearing the hushed sound now, he felt it suited the dark-haired sprite perfectly and god, it was endearing.

Eren really wanted to see what Levi looked like while making it, but he also really, _really_ wanted to fly.

“Go on then,” Levi encouraged, still occasionally letting out one of those faint ‘ _heh’_ noises. “Try it out.”

Grinning, Eren angled his body, lifting his wings. He paused a moment more, adjusting them to catch the breeze better and then he launched himself away from the leaf.

Eren immediately felt the pull of gravity and the weight of his body in his muscles; he started to drop a bit, but then instinct kicked in and he tilted his wings. A strong breeze suddenly caught under him and he glanced down to see Isabel and Farlan had moved and were hovering slightly behind Levi, giving strong flaps of their wings to send the air billowing around him, creating more of a current for him to ride.

Inhaling sharply – because he could do this, felt Levi’s assessing silver gaze upon him and didn’t want to disappoint him – Eren focused on the feel of his wings and adjusted.

Almost immediately he started rising through the air up to where the current was stronger, better able to support the weight of his body. Eren still felt a bit unsteady in the air, his untested wings shaking a bit under weak stabilization muscles, but…

It wasn’t hard.

If Eren could focus on the currents, keep shifting his wings and tilting them to catch the warm updrafts, he could stay in the air.

Experimentally, he gave a slow flap of his wings, panicking a bit when he lost a bit of altitude and wobbled a bit, but then he was soaring upwards and as Eren’s wings straightened, he stabilized. And he was a bit higher in the air.

Grinning broadly, Eren let out a whoop of triumph and feeling brave, gave another strong flap.

A flash of movement caught the corner of his eye and Eren tilted his head a bit to see Levi lazily soaring below him and to the side, luminescent silver eyes wide in amazement as he looked up. His two sets of wings sliced through the air easily, but now that he saw them in action and from a different angle, Eren saw that they were slightly offset. The bottom set was set slightly lower down Levi’s back than the top. He could see that they curled and tilted constantly, directing the currents around him .

It was fascinating to watch and just as Eren was getting distracted, Levi’s voice cut through the air.

“That’s it, Eren,” Levi called, a distinctive pleased note in his deep voice. “Keep going! We’ll start flying back and see how long your wings can go. I’ll fly ahead; follow me, but if you start getting tired then call out. A fall from this height would be serious and without a Scouting harness, it would be difficult to catch you.”

With that, he pumped his wings a bit more rapidly, soaring forwards to take point, glancing over his shoulder every now and then to check on Eren.

This height? They weren’t that-

And then Eren really looked down and saw that somehow, he’d glided all the way up to the first branches of the tall trees that made up the forest. The plant he’d originally launched off was behind them and appeared very distant from his birds-eye view.

Farlan and Isabel suddenly coasted up on either side of him, staying a bit ahead. Combined with Levi taking point, Eren was in an ideal position for a long flight as they smoothed out the air currents for him. It reminded him suddenly of the ‘V’ pattern geese and other flocking birds used when traveling long distances, and Eren finally understood why they did so. It was easier to glide along smoothly when he wasn’t dealing with shifting currents.

“You did it, Eren!” Farlan called out to him. Isabel gave him a bright smile and thumbs-up, followed by a long, happy trill.

The delighted, high sound sparked something within Eren and he ached to answer. Before he could stop himself, he was responding; the long warble that issued forth came from a place in Eren’s throat he hadn’t even been aware existed.

Eren was ashamed for a moment until Levi glanced back at him, silver eyes crinkling a bit as his lips twitched, threatening to curl upwards. It was subtle, but he looked distinctly pleased.

Something warm and happy settled into Eren’s chest at the sight.

And then, Levi tilted his head back and let out a few lilting trills of his own, curling his wings in to spiral through the air rapidly in a near-dizzying display before straightening out. Eren's eyes widened at the sight of Levi twisting through the air. He did it once more and this time when Levi glanced back, there was a bit of a sly look to him.

Eren couldn’t help but grin in delight at the playful display.

Levi looked good like this, the wind flowing through his hair and pushing it away from his face, letting Eren see it unhindered for the first time. His eyes shone in the semi-darkness like two torchlights, the glimmering silver of his wings taking on a certain shine as well as they reflected the light of the full moon.

“Show-off,” Isabel said from his right side, giving a snort to punctuate her words. “Having four wings is cheating!” she yelled up at Levi. The sprite only quirked a brow at her, flicking a wing dismissively before turning his head back around.

“Is that… can you not do that?” Eren asked, eyes not leaving Levi’s streamlined form as he sliced through the air.

Farlan only laughed. “Not really. Kind of, but not anything like Levi. Spinning in the air is his specialty.” To demonstrate, he pulled away a bit and curled his wings in the same manner, twisting through the air.

True to what he’d said, his roll was slower and he was only to get a couple of rotations in before he lost momentum and had to straighten out once again. It looked nothing like what the omega had done.

He tilted a wing and soared back to Eren's side, flapping his wings a few times to regain his position ahead of the other alpha. “Advantages of having an extra set of wings,” Farlan shrugged. “But then again, Levi is just good at pretty much everything. It’s like these things just come naturally to him, more so than others.”

“I see,” Eren said, impressed and enchanted with the omega flying gracefully through the air in front of him.

His wings chose that moment to ache a bit and he was unable to fight back the wince or slight way his wings twitched at the realization. Eren wasn’t fast enough to hide it from Farlan’s eyes, either.

“Getting tired?” he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of the breeze in their ears. Despite wanting to push forwards, Eren wasn’t keen on dropping out of the sky either. Already, it was harder to flap his wings as they started to feel heavy, muscles starting to burn a bit at the strain. The thought of disappointing Levi, of seeing disapproval in those lovely silver eyes made a bitter taste rise on his tongue.

“Yeah,” Eren admitted with a small nod of his head, giving a rueful little smile. He couldn’t help but be disappointed in himself for not making it a bit longer. “A bit.”

“It’s good you told us,” Isabel reassured him with a smile, tilting her wings to fly a bit closer. “We want to get back in one piece and Levi would kick us if you got hurt on the way back. He’d kick himself, too, while he was at it.”

Eren raised his eyebrows and Isabel glanced away, one cheek puffing out as she muttered, “You haven’t felt how hard he kicks. Could probably knock out a tooth.”

“We’ll find a spot to rest for a hop and then set off again,” Farlan said and then let out three loud, short chirps.

 _A hop_? Eren wasn’t sure what that meant, but he guessed it was a measure of time, maybe close to a second or minute. He4 wondered how sprites told time and made a mental note to ask later.

At hearing Farlan’s call, Levi tilted his head back and let out a short chirp of affirmation. His eyes scanned the distance in front of him and landed on a leafless yet sturdy-looking branch below them to the right and just a bit ahead of them. That would do.

Levi flicked his right wing to indicate the direction they were headed. He let out a loud trill and shot forward, beating his wings a bit faster and with more strength. It was a blatant _follow me_ and he heard the three behind him alter their course. Eren was a bit slower to do so, less practiced, but a swift glance back showed he’d adjusted to their course with surprising ease.

Really, when he’d launched into the air and immediately been able to glide, Levi had been surprised, yet more than than pleased. Eren was clearly a natural-born flier. With practice and more stamina, Levi was eager to see what he was capable of.

 _Later,_ Levi chided himself. They weren’t even at Rose yet and he was already casting his gaze to the future. As he neared the branch, Levi slowed, allowing the others to catch up with him a bit before tucking his wings and spiraling down, flaring them out when he got close to create drag and slow down.

He heard Eren's sharp intake of breath and Levi wondered at himself. The move was flashy and excessive for the short distance he’d had to descend, but there was something about being under Eren's watching eyes that made him feel a bit playful in a way he hadn’t since he was a fledgling. The attention made his omega preen, filled him with a desire to show off and impress the alpha.

And then it hit him. They may have recognized each other as _asulae_ , but they were still unbonded. The intense scent marking had tricked their dynamics into thinking they'd spent more time together than they had, and so their instincts were leading them into the next logical step on their path to bonding. 

Courting. He and Eren were courting. It was the reason Eren had been pushing himself, had been determined to fly on the first try. It was why Levi felt the sudden need to show off a bit, flare his wings and display his skills. Eren wanted to demonstrate his strength, his endurance and the will to keep forging on, and Levi's omega wanted to be noticed, to exhibit his swiftness and agility.

Levi's desires were a bit unconventional; usually alphas were the only ones who performed courting displays. Omegas, if they did partake in such a display, usually did so via magic or presenting gifts that displayed a skill such as cooking or weaving, for example. But then again, maybe his omega could sense that Eren wasn't one for such traditional omega displays.

Levi thought of the spark in Eren's eyes when Levi was able to lift him easily, the way his fingers had dug into Levi's thighs and palmed the muscle there with a shudder, the excited smile on Eren's tanned, handsome face when Levi had spun through the air gracefully; maybe, Levi thought, he wasn't the only unconventional one. 

Eren came from a place and society without dynamics or omegas. Maybe Eren desired strength in a partner, like the beta male sprites who preferred other males instead of a female or omega. It was uncommon but certainly not frowned upon for such unions to happen. Perhaps when Eren had been human he'd been like those sprites.

If so, it certainly helped explain some of Eren's reactions and it thrilled Levi to know that Eren desired him for what he was. In many respects, Levi had to admit, he was not a conventional example of an omega. He did not look down upon those of his dynamic who chose the more traditional roles; every member of a community had an important role to play, after all. Just...

Sitting quietly and safely in a community while taking on the role of tending to children, cooking, or other domestic roles had never suited him. He enjoyed partaking in such activities from time to time; most of the decorations and furniture in his hollow had been made by his hand, after all, but even as a fledgling, Levi wasn't content to simply take a passive, protected role. 

He’d been the only omega member of Maria's Scouts, after all. He'd pushed himself and trained until he could outfly the few Skybound omegas he’d met, was faster with paring blades than any other Scout and was stronger than most alphas he knew.

And Eren... Levi knew that Eren _liked_ that now. It made something warm and decidedly pleased curl within his chest, the pieces finally falling into place. 

He wanted Eren to acknowledge he was strong and swift; wanted Eren to show him in return that he could care for Levi in the ways he desired. So far, the alpha had, Levi thought, remembering the way the former human had tended to his leg and cradled him gently, the way he’d been able to lift Levi’s not insubstantial weight with ease. Even if they hadn’t been courting while Eren was human, the alpha had shown him nothing but care and gentleness before and after he’d been turned.

The thought made him feel slightly giddy and Levi had to tamp down the new urges before he acted like a lovestruck fool.

By the Moon, if it wasn’t bad enough for Farlan and Isabel to catch him pressed up a tree high off of his balls from having his horn tugged at a bit...

Anyway, he wasn’t about to let them see him fluttering about and warbling, either. Although, Levi had to admit that showing off his dexterity and his aerial maneuvers had been enjoyable. He hadn't been able to fly like this except during the night flights, when he could let the glamour drop and stop keeping his top and bottom wings pressed together to make them look like a beta's wings.

It felt so good to truly stretch his wings out, to have a reason to perform all the maneuvers other than just for fun.

Plus, remembering Eren's awed expression after he’d spun through the air….

Well, Levi wasn’t opposed to showing off a bit more.

They alighted upon a branch, Levi watching with a careful, cautious eye as Eren struggled to land with as much grace. His eyebrow quirked as the other sprite basically fell out of the air, landing on the wood with a soft _oof_.

“Not bad,” Levi said mildly. “Your landing leaves much to be desired, but considering how far you’ve made it on this leg, I’m impressed.”

Eren gave a small groan, sitting up and rubbing his shoulders. “You’re right,” Eren conceded with a grimace. “Definitely right. God, this is difficult. I have so much more respect for you all now.”

“If you think this is hard, you should’ve seen Levi when he was learning to fly. He had to coordinate two sets of wings and double the amount of flight muscles, not to mention the weight of them.”

“Really?” Eren said thoughtfully, giving an appraising look as Farlan reached out a hand to hoist him up. “I never thought of that.”

Levi only shook his head, annoyance rising at the memory of how surprised he'd been when he first tried to fly and found that coordinating four wings was much harder than it looked. “We can reminisce later. Eren, turn around. It won’t be much, but I can ease some of the ache. If we keep doing this in short bursts, we’ll make it before dawn approaches.” As he spoke, Eren compliantly turned and showed Levi his back. The open-backed shirt that was common among sprites meant that Levi could see the slight tremble of the wings and quivering of tired muscles.

Calling up his magic, Levi reached out and spread his now-glowing hands along the newly-formed muscles. Eren shivered as Levi's fingers brushed over the slight swell where the wing's inner muscles met skin and he gentled his touch, realizing that the newly transformed skin was still oversensitive.

The sigh Eren gave as the soothing magic washed over him was filled with relief. While his aches weren’t completely gone, Eren still felt invigorated as he rolled his shoulders. His joints popped a bit as he did so and a low, sated rumble curled out of his chest.

“He does this for me when I get sunburn,” Isabel said, crouching a bit and flapping her wings to shake the tiredness out of them. “It’s not as powerful as it would be if he were an Earthshatter sprite, but it does the trick.”

“An Earthshatter sprite?” Eren asked, brows drawing in confusion even as the tingling warmth disappeared and Levi stepped away.

Eren twisted to look at him, another question on the tip of his tongue, but when Eren saw him, it died before he could voice it. He'd seen Levi use magic before, but this was the first time he'd really looked at the omega while he was doing so.

Levi’s marks were lit with a subtle glow and his eyes were infused with it as well, shining brightly in the darkness of night. The silver of his wings seemed brighter, reflecting the soft white light that had spread over Levi's marks and hands. He looked absolutely ethereal and Eren was dumbstruck, unable to form a single word.

He wanted to thank Levi, but all he could do was stare at the omega, distantly wondering if he'd been some sort of a saint in his past life to earn such a lovely creature as his soulmate in this one. 

Levi gave him a curious look as the light suffusing his marks faded until with a small flick of his fingers, the glow was snuffed, casting them back into darkness only abated slightly by the light of the full moon. Eren thought he saw a pleased glint in Levi's eyes before the omega scoffed and shook his head.

“I don’t have the patience to play teacher,” he said impatiently, referring to Eren's attention. “You should be fine to fly now. You should ask Isabel, she loves talking about this shit.” Levi spread his glimmering wings, flapping each set slowly one at a time to stretch them out before stepping to the edge. Eren thought it looked rather deliberate, the way he slightly curled them to catch the light. “I’m going ahead to find a good route. When you hear my signal, follow my scent and I’ll meet you where we’ll rest next.”

He glanced at Eren once before he departed and he swore he saw the hint of a teasing little smile curling the edges of his lips up before without further ado, he stepped off the branch. Blinking at the abrupt departure, Eren peeked over the edge to see him falling backwards through the air for a heart-stopping second. 

Suddenly, he pulled his wings in and twisted backwards through the air with dizzying agility, flipping and then he was shooting up past them to spiral away. His wings winked once before he was gone, the darkness enveloping him.

It left him a little bit awestruck and Eren, at that moment, came to a realization.

Levi was teasing him. Was practically flirting with him, forcing Eren to notice him and ensure he couldn't look away once Levi had his attention. And he was _good_ at it. 

_Fuck._

It was all he could do not to let a stupid smile spread over his face, because fuck, he was absolutely fucking _gone_ over Levi, and it was the best feeling in the world.

“Show-off,” Isabel muttered again, folding her arms and glaring into the darkness. Eren could only smile at that, because Levi was showing off for _him_. 

Eren was really, really thankful he went on that walk.

Isabel was still glaring out at where Levi had disappeared. She didn't seem angry - her subtle poppy scent was still warm and clean, lacking any bitter or smoky notes that indicated she was annoyed or angry. Instead, she seemed disgruntled at the way Levi had just left so abruptly, leaving them all alone. 

“So there are different types of magic and different races of sprites?” Eren asked, tugging her attention away from where Levi had disappeared. “Tell me more about them, I’m curious.”

Isabel turned away to face him with a small pout before sighing a bit. She was perking up quickly, though, eager to tell the new addition to their species more about them. “There’s the Moonglow sprites- that’s what we are. We live in a community of Sunlight sprites. There are also the Earthshatter sprites, Skybound sprites and then the Tidalwave sprites, but not much is known about them. There are no known communities of them.”

A sharp, high call split the night air and Farlan perked up. “He’s found a good path. We should follow him before he gets too far ahead and is forced to wait.” He glanced back at Eren, giving a small, fond smile. “He gets grumpy when he’s forced to wait around.”

“He’s always grumpy,” Isabel grumbled, rising to her feet and shaking a few stay bits of dust off her pants. “Well,” she amended, “he’s been a bit less grumpy with you around. It’s really strange to see. Keep it up, Eren!”

Eren was a bit taken aback by her conflicting words. Levi was usually grumpy? He seemed a bit reticent and gruff, crude at some points, but… Eren remembered the soft, almost-smiles, the breathy laugh, the gentle, encouraging words and almost playful manner he’d had when showing off some of his skills while flying.

Levi certainly didn’t seem grumpy, but if Eren's presence was enough to make him bend his personality a bit into what he’d displayed thus far, he didn’t mind sticking around and ‘keeping it up,’ so to speak.

“I’ll… do my best?” Eren tried, earning a smile from Isabel.

“C’mon,” she said, gently pushing him to the edge. “We should go. Remember what Levi told you; we’ll catch you if something happens,” she reassured him as Farlan launched himself off the branch, hovering below and a bit off to the side to back up her words.

He’d catch Eren if anything went wrong and he started plummeting. The alpha was bigger than him and it would be hard to hold him up, but he and Isabel could haul Eren back up the short distance to the branch if needed.

Eren swallowed and nodded, hearing another short chirp from further away this time, a bit sharper and impatient sounding. Levi did indeed sound like he hated to be kept waiting. Leaning over and carefully stretching out his wings, Eren took a deep breath and launched himself up. He was aided by a draft from Farlan’s suddenly heavy flapping and Eren easily tilted his new wings to better ride the current, soaring forwards and following the sweet scent of lavender and honey laced with a faint trace of nightshade that lingered in the air.

“Good!” Isabel yelled. Eren heard the branch shake and the near-silent rustle of wings as she took off after him. “Farlan’s gonna take point and I’ll fly alongside you,” she called as she came up to his side, gliding easily along the air and propelling herself forwards to keep pace with him. She was a more experienced flier, but Farlan and Eren's wings were larger and wider, so she had to beat her own a bit faster to keep pace.

“Want me to tell you more?” she asked, raising her voice to be heard above the sound of the wind blowing past their ears. “It might help to have some background when you meet the other members of the community!”

Eren chanced a glance over at her, and seeing the slightly excited gleam in her eyes, he couldn’t say no. It looked like she wanted to talk about it, and Eren couldn’t deny he wanted to learn more about the creatures he now shared a species with.

“Yeah!” he called, brows furrowing a bit as he kept concentrating on their flight. “I’m listening.”

Isabel rolled a bit in the air so that her side was facing the ground and she could look directly at Eren without having to keep her neck craned.

“We Moonglow sprites specialize in illusionary and conjuring. Very useful to cloak ourselves and hide, though it has more frivolous uses as well. During the Summer Gathering, when communities of the races all get together for a festival, all the omegas would plan out a lightshow weeks in advance. It was what everyone looked forwards to the most,” she called, a strange lilt in her voice at the memory. She looked a bit wistful, but a somewhat satisfied expression spread over her face as she reminisced over the fond memories. “Each omega would get a short time for a display, and they’d weave into the next sprite’s display before they would all come together. I remember Levi’s were always the best.”

“You’re biased, Iz,” Farlan called back, tilting his head with a fond, exasperated expression. “They were all really good.”

“Yeah, but remember the summer it was the Trost Sunlight community’s turn to host and Levi conjured the golden phoenix and fire curtain as a tribute to them?” she called up, tone a bit challenging. “Even you were impressed by that!”

What Isabel said sounded amazing - Eren really hoped that one day, he’d get to see the extent of what Levi could do. The thought of attending a festival with Levi, of having a solid future with him made a warm trill build in his throat. 

Feeling the shirt against his skin now and the heaviness of the boots on his feet, Eren was once again awed at just how real Levi's illusionary clothes appeared. Levi could spin illusions and conjure light, heal wounds and somehow had transformed Eren from a human into a sprite, (though apparently, that hadn't been done on purpose and Levi had no idea how he did it). 

He’d already been fascinated by what little Levi had done so far and hearing Isabel rave about Levi’s abilities made his alpha preen. The omega was absolutely perfect.

“Wait, Levi participated? I thought he was hiding the fact that he was an omega?” Eren asked, suddenly remembering one of the first conversations they’d had.

“He didn’t hide it when we lived in our old community,” Isabel explained. “We didn’t always live with the Sunlight Rose community. Maria was one of the largest Moonglow communities, and after-”

A sudden harsh, barking sort of sound cut the air and they both looked up to see that Farlan was glaring over his shoulder at the redhead. When he caught Isabel’s eye, he gave a shake of his head in a silent reprimand.

Isabel seemed to deflate a bit at that and some of her good cheer dissipated. It was strange and Eren wondered what had happened that Farlan was unsubtly warning her away from talking about.

“Well,” Isabel said a bit more quietly, “Levi should tell you about that. He’s better suited for it and as his _asula,_ you’ll need to know eventually.” She gave a forlorn sigh, brushing away some loose hairs from her face. “Suffice to say, it was a large Moonglow community, but there was an incident that reduced our race’s population, so few Moonglow omegas are left. If those in Rose or another community found out what he was, they’d definitely get overprotective of him and he’d hate that.”

It made sense in a way, but Eren was still extremely curious about the incident that Isabel spoke of. He made a mental note to ask Levi about it when he was alone with the sprite, but to be tactful about it. Judging by Farlan’s reaction, it was a bit of a delicate topic.

A sharp, seeking trill cut the air and all three heads whipped up.

A glint of silver caught his eye from below and he saw Levi spiraling up from underneath them, shooting up in front of them in a smooth movement before dipping back down. He flew ahead, flicking his wings to the left to show where they should go and then rolled away, leading them to follow him to a low-hanging branch. A smile tugged at Eren's lips at the flashy movements because yeah, Levi was _definitely_ showing off. 

This time, Eren slowed himself and watched how Levi landed.

The sprite gave a small swoop towards the branch and then when he was almost over it, tucked his wings in and flared them subtly to keep the current underneath him. They slowed his descent and allowed him to hover for a second before Levi closed them behind his back and dropped lightly to his feet. He still kept weight off of his left leg, Eren noticed, and made a silent note to check on Levi's leg again as soon as they were alone.

Eren tried to follow his example, but as with everything the sprite did, Levi made it look much easier than it was. Compared to Levi’s effortless landing, Eren's was much rougher. He ended up folding his wings back too soon and he dropped onto the branch with a loud thump, shaking it and making Levi wobble on it a bit.

“I don’t understand how you land so lightly,” Eren said with a sheepish smile. 

“As with everything else, it takes practice,” Levi told him, the tip of a wing flicking almost dismissively. 

His hands were already glowing with that telltale white light and Eren beamed as he turned around, already looking forward to relieving his aching back. Eren shifted his wings to bare tired flight muscles and dropped his head forwards with a low groan as the movement made his muscles burn. He was expecting it this time, but still sighed in deep-seated satisfaction when the soothing warmth from Levi’s hands sunk into his skin.

“Once you get settled, we can practice and build up your flight stamina.”

Eren hadn’t realized how much he’d missed Levi’s voice in the short time they’d been apart. He wondered if it had something to do with being _asulae_ , or if Levi’s voice always sounded so good.

Eren supposed it was a bit of both.

With the way Levi was standing behind him, his mouth was close to his ear and Eren shivered at the low, silky sound of it. He wondered if the way he felt about Levi, his response to everything the omega said and did was caused by his new alpha instincts.

Eren couldn’t remember ever having such a visceral reaction to any of his past partners, couldn’t recall ever being as enamored with someone as deeply as he was with Levi, nevermind so soon after they had met.

Levi had said that _asulae_ were made for each other and Eren knew that certainly had a part to play in it. While it was a bit disconcerting to be completely smitten with someone the way all of Eren's being seemed to be with Levi, he also certainly didn’t find himself opposed to the thought of it. There was no question that he found the sprite attractive, that much was a given. It was more that he _liked_ Levi, was impressed with what he'd seen of the sprite thus far and wanted to learn more about him, get closer to him and strengthen the bond between them.

“It’s not much further to the community,” Levi remarked, withdrawing his hands and looking out to the distance, where Eren assumed the community was. “If we split the remaining distance and take one last rest, we should reach the perimeter with some time to spare before dawn.”

“Right,” Eren nodded. He flapped his wings a few times, marveling at Levi’s ability to soothe out the aches and slight twinge of overworked muscles. He felt good as new and silently vowed to do something nice for Levi as a thanks as soon as he felt comfortable in sprite society. “I feel great.”

“Good.” The glow was fading from Levi’s marks and Eren didn’t think he’d ever get tired of the sight of them lit up. They suited the omega, added to his fey-like appeal. “You know the drill. Follow me when I signal.”

And then he was stepping off the branch out into the night, leaving Eren mourning the loss of his presence.

Isabel sidled up to him, brushing him playfully with a wing. “I know that look,” she sighed. “Hate to see him go, but love to watch him-”

“By the _Moon_ ,” Farlan groaned. “ _Isabel_ , _stop_.”

Eren had to agree with Farlan. It was a bit uncomfortable acting so obviously smitten in front of others, but in certain respects Eren was helpless against the thrall of his instincts.

A call split the night air and with a visible sigh of relief, Farlan rose to his feet and brushed his clothes off. “That’s Levi, let’s get going. I’ll fly first and a bit above to smooth out the air for you, like we've been doing. It should help a bit. Levi's magic can only do so much," he sighed. "Earth magic can only heal and soothe to a certain extent; it can't just take away fatigue. Isabel can tell you more as we go.”

The three all took off and as Isabel swooped up to his side Eren tilted his head towards her to show he was listening.

“So, before we were rudely interrupted, I was gonna tell you that Sunlight sprites specialize in heat and light. Out of all the races, they’re the best craftsmen and cooks, because they can manipulate the heat of the forges and cooking fires so well. Sasha makes the absolute best dumplings," Isabel sighed, a dreamy look in her face before she shook her head and gave Eren a smile. "The Earthshatter sprites have strong healing and nature magic; they make the best healers and apothecaries, because they’re fantastic cultivators. Our healer, Hanji, is an Earthshatter sprite and Levi's unofficial best friend, though he'll deny it every chance he gets," Isabel giggled and Eren's heart warmed at the thought. It was obvious that Levi had a kind, gentle heart underneath that rough exterior; it was a side he'd seen so much of already and it made Eren's cheeks warm. 

_He’s been a bit less grumpy with you around._

Eren's lips turned up in a small smile and he returned his attention to Isabel as she continued. "It’s said that Tidalwave sprites could conjure and control water, which makes sense considering the element they’re attuned to. Skybound sprites have a strong control over the winds and air, and are considered some of the strongest and fastest fliers. I’d say one of their omegas could beat Levi in a race, and that’s saying something.”

“Is Levi fast?” Eren asked automatically before mentally chiding himself; he’d seen a bit of what Levi could do already.

“Yeah; he’s one of the best fliers I’ve ever seen, though usually he has to hold himself back because he’s been disguising himself as a beta. It’d be suspicious if a beta flew like an omega.”

“This is all so fascinating,” Eren breathed, and he had to admit, having Isabel distract him in this way was a great help. When he wasn’t focusing on his wings, the rhythmic beating came more naturally to him; it was sort of like breathing. When he wasn’t paying attention to it, his body naturally did it for him. He wasn’t focusing on the way his muscles trembled and ached with the exertion, either.

But now that he was thinking about it, he felt himself wobble a bit and immediately, Isabel was underneath him, beating her wings with a bit more strength to send air billowing up under his tired wings and bolster him up.

Gritting his teeth, he called down to her, “Tell me more; it helps take my mind off flying and makes it easier.”

Apparently Isabel understood what he was getting at, because she flew up a bit more so that she could be heard more easily and in an impressive display, flipped so that she was basically flying upside-down and facing Eren. The sudden gust of wind threw him off a bit, but he corrected himself and actually found it easier to glide along.

In this position, the currents from Isabel’s flight reached his wings directly and he noticed the deliberate way her wings curled at the tips with every beat. He realized that she was sending the air directly underneath his wings in order to help him and make it so he didn’t have to work as hard.

Eren greatly appreciated it, though his inner alpha was rankling a bit at being so obviously aided, growling at the thought of being seen as weak. However, Eren grew up as a human, had learned from a young age that it was alright to accept help. He was able to push away the new instincts and focused when Isabel began speaking, her voice calling a bit louder so that Eren could hear.

“Within all of the races, there are some that have special abilities, but they’re very rare; no one has heard of anyone who’s had them for, well, as long as we can remember," she said, frowning a bit at the thought. "We call them the Touched. Earthshatter sprites could be Lifetouched and Skybound sprites could be Stormtouched. Sunlight sprites had the Firetouched, and we Moonglow spirits had the Startouched.”

“What about the water sprites? The Tidalwave race?”

“Not much is known about them; they’re apparently rarely seen and are reclusive and nomadic, so we don’t have any records on their Touched.”

Farlan looked back, head tilting to listen as they talked. Suddenly, he let out a sharp chip and jerked his head at Isabel. She gave an assenting trill and then called up, “Farlan’s stronger, so we’re going to switch and he’ll bolster you aloft. He knows more about the subject than I do, too.”

With that, Isabel twisted her wings and dexterously rolled, gliding forwards with a single flap as she did so. Farlan tilted his wings up, creating drag and he slowed, falling back and losing some altitude in order to take Isabel’s place. In a similar movement, he rolled himself over as Isabel had done, and Eren blinked at the sheer strength of the air that was being pushed up towards him.

“Isabel was talking to you about the Touched?” Farlan called up, and Eren nodded. “The records say that some Earthshatter sprites could bring someone back from the brink of death,” Farlan told him, “and that Skybound sprites could manipulate the weather. Sunlight sprites could manipulate and conjure fire. We don’t know what the Tidalwave Touched could do, though.”

Eren's eyebrows furrowed as he realized that the two sprites had left out the abilities of the Startouched. It didn’t seem that they would forget to talk about their own race, but why would they deliberately hide it?

“What about the Moonglow Touched?” Farlan’s wings faltered for a half a beat before he straightened up. Interesting. “Is it considered impolite to talk about it?” Eren asked.

Farlan sighed. “It’s… no one’s seen a Startouched for longer than we can remember. Some sprites think that unlike the others, the Startouched didn’t even exist, that Moonglow sprites didn’t have a Touched. It’s a delicate subject among some who vehemently believe one way or the other, so it’s generally an unspoken rule to just… not talk about it.”

Despite himself, Eren's mind wandered to Levi’s shimmering, inky wings. The glimmering silver sometimes made the wings look like a starlit night, the soft, misty grey catching in certain lights. Isabel and Farlan’s own respective red and blue wings were like Levi’s with their patterning and illuminated colors, but Levi’s felt like a true embodiment of the night.

“Pay attention.”

A low voice came from right next to Eren, startling him a bit. With a surprised, small chirp, Eren slowed and twisted to look to his side. He saw Levi gliding next to him with his eyebrow quirked. “You almost overshot me,” Levi told him, pointing down to where Isabel and Farlan were settling onto a branch.

“Shit,” Eren winced. Shaking his head, Eren slowed a bit more to start descending and dropped onto the branch. To his pleasure it was a bit smoother this time; he was definitely improving, Eren thought as a telltale white glow caught the corner of his eye.

Levi gave a thoughtful hum as he washed away the tiredness of Eren's back, reinvigorating him. "What are you thinking about?" Eren asked, referring to the quiet noise the sprite had made even as he sighed in relief. Without Levi’s help he’d probably have already given up, Eren thought. They’d been right; even with help, these short flights were extremely tiring.

When Levi spoke again it was quiet and Eren had to tilt his head a bit to hear him properly. “The powers of Moonglow sprites are at their height during a full moon, you know. We become nearly invisible; not just omegas can do it. It’s what makes us a bit different from other sprites.” Levi tilted his head in an almost sly, playful manner, wings giving a slow, lazy flap. “When your wings are a bit stronger, we should have a chase during it. Test your wings, see if you can catch me.”

An image of a shadowy Levi flitting through the branches as Eren chased after him flickered through his mind, and Eren's breath caught. He could just imagine getting glimpses of illuminated silver eyes, flashes of glimmering wings as Levi tried to evade him, and his inner alpha keened with excitement.

“I… yes,” Eren said hoarsely, blinking a bit, focusing his gaze back on Levi. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

Something glinted in those shining eyes, a pleased, anticipatory look shooting through them before it disappeared and Levi’s face was a neutral mask again.

“Good,” he said, voice low and a bit throaty, making Eren bite back a pleased rumble. Turning away a bit, he addressed Farlan and Isabel. “You two go ahead. Find the route. Stop outside the Rose perimeter and find a comfortable place to rest. We’ll talk more there and discuss what we should tell Erwin about this…” Levi paused for a moment to search for the right word before he finally settled on, “situation.”

Isabel and Farlan took off without questioning their sudden change in routine, leaving Eren and Levi alone. The way they obeyed Levi without question, looking to him as their leader was certainly intriguing. From what he’d surmised about secondary dynamics thus far, Eren assumed that it was the alpha would generally be the leader. However, Farlan deferred to Levi without hesitation.

Though, Eren couldn’t deny that Levi had an understated sort of pull that bespoke a natural-born leader, a cloak of quiet authority settling upon his shoulders and ringing in his voice that made it easy to see why the other two sprites followed him. Eren even found himself looking to Levi for their next move, and not just because he was still new to being a sprite.

"Who is Erwin?" Eren asked suddenly, brows furrowing a bit at the unknown name. 

“Erwin is the Head Alpha, also known as the Commander of the Sunlight’s Rose commune," Levi told him. "He was a former member of the Scouts before his father faded last season.”

“Are the Scouts kind of like police?" Eren asked, receiving only a blank stare at the foreign word. "Ah shit, wait, you wouldn’t know that word.”

“I don’t,” Levi said, sounding mildly amused. “They patrol the perimeter and handle any small threats to the community. Their purpose is to keep us safe.”

A sharp trill cut the air and used to the routine by now, Eren spread his wings and stepped to the edge of the branch. Beside him, Levi walked to the edge as well and leapt off, soaring ahead without pause.

“Keep up,” Levi called over his shoulder, giving Eren an expectant look, flicking his wings in an impatient gesture.

Eren got the distinct feeling that Levi was pushing him a bit, testing him and Eren felt his alpha respond to the challenge with eagerness. Levi had been teasing him all night, showing off and Eren felt as if Levi was silently telling him that it was Eren's turn to do so. 

He launched his body forwards and wobbled a bit as he beat his wings a bit faster than he was used to in order to catch up.

“Your takeoff leaves much to be desired, but considering how new you are to this, I’d say not bad,” Levi told him, looking completely at ease as he glided through the air easily. Eren wasn’t quite sure if that was a compliment or not, but he decided to take it as one.

“Why did you send Farlan and Isabel ahead?” Eren asked him. Levi gave him a quick glance before looking forwards again.

“I wanted to give you a chance to ask me anything you’re still unsure of without either of them interrupting,” Levi told him. The words were delivered neutrally, but Eren's heart swelled a bit at the thoughtful gesture. He glanced over at Eren. “I can’t promise to answer all of your questions, but if there’s anything that you feel would help make you more comfortable before we enter the community…”

Levi trailed off, leaving the ending open as an opportunity to speak. At first, Eren wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask, but then the earlier discussion with Isabel came to his mind. Eren weighed the pros and cons of asking about it, not wanting to ruin the time alone he had with Levi by bringing up something that would sour the mood.

In the end, his overwhelming curiosity won out.

“Isabel mentioned something about your old community earlier,” Eren said carefully, trying to approach the topic with as much tact as possible, “but Farlan stopped her and said you should be the one to tell me about it. Can I…” Eren trailed off, not sure what else he wanted to say.

The only sound for a few seconds was the sound of Eren's wings and the wind whistling around his ears and through his horns.

“I suppose you should know,” Levi said eventually, eyes never leaving their locked stare in the distance. “It’s common knowledge and would be strange if you hadn’t heard of it.” Levi flew in silence for a few more seconds, a tangible weight settling between them before Levi spoke. “It was raided by kelpies during the day. Moonglow are naturally nocturnal, so most of Maria was asleep when it happened, only a few cursory Scout patrols out. We were unprepared. Farlan, Isabel and I were on a long-distance patrol when it happened.”

Levi’s voice was distant, almost faraway as he retold the memory and Eren’s heart clenched as he unconsciously held his breath and waited for the rest of the story. Part of him knew what happened next, but he needed to _know_. Something about this was the key to understanding Levi and Eren was enthralled by the soft, faraway voice as Levi spoke.

“By the time we sensed something was wrong and returned, the entire community was in flames, overrun. There was nothing we could do but wait and search for survivors.” Levi remained quiet for a few, long moments, and when he spoke, his voice was emotionless, almost dead. “We found none. Only broken bodies and homes.”

Eren's heart throbbed in sympathy. He couldn’t imagine losing nearly everyone he knew in the matter of a few hours. He imagined leaving for work and coming back only to find those he knew gone and he couldn’t imagine the loss Levi had suffered.

“Levi…” Eren started, but the dark-haired sprite just shook his head sharply.

“It’s in the past,” Levi said, his voice gone a bit hard. “No use dwelling on it. All we can do is move forward, live without regrets.”

“Is that even possible?” Eren wondered aloud, thinking of his mother, taken too early by a disease that they could have prevented if they’d caught it earlier. His father, Grisha, had spiraled downwards after that, the strain of constant ‘what-ifs’ and the knowledge that if he’d been a bit more attentive, he would have found what was making his wife ill a heavy load upon his shoulders. It was the reason he'd been pushing Eren so hard to get into medical school; the faster Eren graduated, the sooner he could retire and not be forced to face the memories of his mistake each time he diagnosed or treated a patient. 

Levi was silent for a few moments in contemplation before he shook his head. “I’m still working on it,” he admitted a bit ruefully. His silvery eyes had a faraway look to them, as if his thoughts were miles away.

The wind of their flight and Levi’s moving head made the little charm on Levi’s horn sway and Eren's eyes were immediately drawn to it. Wanting to steer their conversation away from the depressing turn it had taken, he blurted out, “What’s the charm on your horn?”

Levi slowly reached up to it, as if he’d forgotten it was there.

“It… my mother gifted it to me,” Levi said slowly, almost as if he had to think hard about where it had come from. The change in topic shook Levi out of whatever path his thoughts had started to travel down just a bit. “She had it commissioned when I became Captain of the Scouting Corps in my old community, Maria. It was meant to be a good luck charm, but I’m not sure how effective it was. The day she presented it to me was the same day our community was razed to the ground. It’s the only thing I have left to remember her by, the only personal object that I have left from there.”

Eren remembered his own mother, how much it had hurt when she had succumbed to illness. Eren had watched her waste away until one night, he woke up to a quiet, unnaturally still house and a heartbroken father.

Levi’s shoulders were tense they flew in silence. While Eren was stunned that Levi had divulged so much personal information, there was also a subtle warmth that sparked in his chest at being given a brief glance behind the sprite’s hardened shields. He adored all facets of the man he'd seen thus far, but this...

Levi was giving him the chance to see a rare, precious side that few other saw. It reminded Eren of a cat; if they trusted you, they'd show you the soft, vulnerable belly, but one wrong move would result in being clawed and the cat running off to be forever skittish around you. Eren refused to make the wrong move, thought long and hard about what he wanted to say next.

“I’d say it was pretty effective,” Eren said slowly, not missing the brief, startled glance Levi threw at him. “You were one of the only survivors. I don’t know if it has any magic or enchantment, I’m not sure how it all works, but… maybe that’s what kept you safe during the attack.”

“I… I’ve never thought of it like that before.” Silver eyes dimmed a bit as Levi mulled this over, then he glanced back at Eren. There was something warm in the depths of those shimmering pools, and Eren knew he had said the right thing. “Thank you.”

Quiet as the words were, Eren almost missed them. He wasn’t quiet sure if he was supposed to hear them. Instead of acknowledging them outright, he gave a small subtle nod before deciding to shift to a safer, less heavy topic. “Can I ask if there’s any particular meaning behind the opal?”

Levi gave a small nod. “All of the different races of sprites have a gemstone that increases our attunement to our element, or in the case of omegas, amplifies our magic. My race is known for the moon opals.” Levi reached up to brush his hand over the dangling charm. In the light of the moon, it seemed to take on a silvery glow for a brief moment. The same color of Levi’s eyes, Eren realized with a start, and his breath caught as those lovely mercury eyes gazed up at the night sky thoughtfully. “In dire situations, the opals can be crushed to serve as an energy reserve or make a spell stronger. That was why my mother chose this as a gift; she thought it would prove useful if I were ever to find myself in a dangerous situation.”

Levi’s eyes closed. “I feel like it would have served her better than it did me," he said quietly, then took a deep breath and shook his head. "But it’s in the past."

“So you were a… Captain of the Scouts?" Eren asked next, not wanting to let Levi fall into a spiral of dismal thoughts, but wanting to learn more. Levi, while a bit more subdued now, seemed willing to answer Eren's questions, to tell him more about himself and Eren wanted to soak up the information like a sponge. "You mentioned you were a Squad Leader before.”

“Mm,” Levi hummed, rolling a bit in the air to face Eren more directly. “A sprite starts out as a recruit, then becomes a cadet placed under a Squad Leader after a full rotation of the seasons. Squad Leaders answer to the Section Commander they’re placed under, and the Captain of the Scouts is, for all intents and purposes, the leader. I was tapped for the position and began training for it. The day following the night of the announcement that the former Captain was stepping down is when the raid happened. I would have stepped into my new position that night.”

Eren listened with rapt fascination, a desolate feeling surging through him at Levi’s last revelation. He remembered the way Isabel and Farlan followed him without question, the ring of authority in his voice that felt comfortable… natural.

“You would have made an excellent Captain,” Eren told him.

Levi shrugged noncommittally. The only thing that betrayed his inner feelings was the tightness of his eyes and the slightly rigid set of his shoulders.

“Perhaps,” Levi said neutrally. “It’s something we’ll never know. I’ve been adjusting to life within Rose and it hasn’t been so bad.” He glanced thoughtfully over at Eren. “Though I suppose I’ll have to do some more now that you’ve showed up,” he tacked on as an afterthought.

Eren wasn’t sure how he was meant to take it. Levi’s face gave nothing away to determine if he meant is as a positive or negative thing. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask when Levi’s head whipped forwards, head tilting a bit. His eyes closed and his head raised to take in the brief scent on the air before opening his eyes to fix Eren with a serious look.

“Dip to the right and follow me,” Levi told him, voice taking on that unquestionable authority once more. Instinctively Eren perked up, keenly listening as Levi spoke. “Be quiet. We’re at the perimeter. Sunlight sprites won’t be able to see us in the dark, but their hearing is as keen as ours. There aren’t any patrols that I can sense right now, but they could come soon.”

Eren nodded, watching as Levi beat his wings to soar ahead and take the lead. Their proximity to the community must have been why Farlan and Isabel didn’t call out to them; they didn’t want to risk behind heard.

Eren watched Levi keenly, trying to determine how the omega flew so silently. Eren himself wasn’t loud, but unlike the other sprites, he could hear the way the air whistled across his wings and the soft sounds as he flapped them. It didn’t look like Levi did anything special, though with his two sets of wings it was hard to tell if there was something he did that would be difficult or impossible for Eren to do with just one.

He made a mental note to ask Levi later. For now, he watched the glimmering silver of his wings keenly, afraid that he’d lose Levi in the darkness of the night without the gleam to lead him. Levi was considerate and kept his pace measured so Eren could keep pace, and it wasn’t long before Levi flipped his wings up to slow down, gesturing with a hand for Eren to do the same.

Then, Levi drifted in a lazy spiral down towards the ground. Eren's descent was a bit clumsier but when he saw Isabel and Farlan perched on a long twig of a bush, he was able to adjust to land next to them right as Levi fluttered down casually.

“Figured that there’d be less chance of our voices and scents being picked up by a patrol if we were down here,” Farlan said once Levi had settled.

Levi nodded in approval. “Good choice. Come here, Eren,” Levi said, gesturing to him. “I’m going to redo our glamour; you’ll need it too.”

“Why is that?”

“It provides protection from predators and communities are protected by Moon magic,” Levi explained, his marks and hands starting to come aglow. “They’re basically invisible unless you have a glamour on. It protects them from being stumbled upon by other creatures and _valae._ ”

Levi held his hands out, palms facing the sky and tilted his head back, eyes slipping shut and breathing steadily in and out.

“What’s a _valae_?” Eren asked quietly, instinctively keeping his voice low as to not disturb the omega.

“ _They_ are what are also known as Wanderers and officially what _you_ are now. We needed a backstory for you and it’s the best explanation we have. Levi’s hurt leg adds to it,” Farlan answered. Stepping closer, he placed his fingertips on Levi’s glowing palm and Isabel followed suit.

Eren hesitated and Farlan jerked his head to indicate that Eren should do the same.

He knew that Levi’s magic had the ability to burn his skin with his warmth, but also soothe. However, when he’d been easing the aches of Eren's muscles, his hands hadn’t glowed as bright as they were now, so it was with a bit of wariness that he tentatively placed his fingers on Levi’s other palm.

The light was so bright that his hands were hard to see and luckily, the warmth that seeped into his fingers wasn’t hot enough to be uncomfortable. The warmth spread through his body and the glow crept over them until all four of them were enveloped in bright light.

Levi’s brows were furrowed in concentration and then in a strange switch in sensation, peculiar, chilling tingle started in the tips of his fingers, slowly sweeping over his skin and enveloping him from head to toe. It sent a shiver down his spine, but as soon as it reached his toes and the top of his head, it abruptly disappeared. Eren blinked at the sudden loss of sensation and then Levi was lowering his arms, his marks pulsing and glowing with fading light.

It was strange; the light from Levi's magic hadn't been nearly as strong as when he'd been using it to help relieve Eren's aches, but it had been this bright when he'd conjured Eren's clothes. He remembered Levi and Isabel telling him the Moonglow sprites excelled at magic attuned to the moon, including glamours. Was the brightness and way the magic seemed to want to linger within Levi's skin due to his connection to the moon?

Shaking his head, Eren huffed out a breath. He had so many questions, so many things he wanted answered, but now was not the right time to ask them. There were much more pressing matters to attend to. 

While the glow seemed to linger within Levi's skin and hands, it did not within Eren. The light faded quickly from his skin; it seemed almost like it was sinking into him, which was a strange sight in itself. Eren shook his hands, still a bit warm from the magic but with the occasional chilly tingle. He had to wonder if this was what magic felt like for Levi.

“That felt… odd,” Eren murmured, rubbing his palms together in a brisk movement in an attempt to make the lingering tingles go away. Isabel nodded in agreement, rubbing her hands together briskly in an attempt to get rid of the lingering chill.

“Glamours always do – don’t ask,” Isabel said, wrinkling her nose when she saw Eren open his mouth, “unless you want an explanation that leaves you more confused than you were to begin with.” She leaned around Eren to fix a certain, accusatory look upon Levi, pursing her lips together in a thin line. 

Eren heard an almost amused-sounding breathy _heh_ from Levi, but when the alpha turned, Levi’s face was once more set into the neutral mask he seemed to always wear.

 _Except around you,_ something within Eren whispered and with difficulty, he pushed the thought away. Whatever this inner voice he'd gained was, it was loud and seemed extremely fixated on anything having to do with Levi. Not that he could blame it, but they had to focus, because this was important. 

“The glamour will allow you to enter and see the community," Levi told him, folding his arms. He shifted his weight onto his right leg subtly, but Eren's trained eyes saw the way he was heavily favoring his left. "But we need an explanation for you.”

Eren nodded in understanding; spouting off tales of how he used to be a human would only cause trouble. Talking about how he’d changed Eren into a sprite would only draw questions and probing from others that would serve only to make the omega uncomfortable. Besides, Eren was fairly certain that if Levi's community knew he hadn't been born a sprite, used to be six feet tall and had swatted Levi against a tree like a fly, it would only serve to alienate them in the best scenario or get them driven out in the worst.

If it meant fibbing a bit and having to remember a backstory, then Eren would gladly do so. He just hoped that whatever they came up with wasn’t elaborate; his memory was good, but there was so much other information he was trying to retain at the moment as well.

“We’ve discussed it a bit already,” Farlan told him, settling down onto the branch and swinging his legs over the edge a bit. “We say you’re a peaceful _valus_ who has been searching for a community to join. You saw us getting attacked by an owl when we went for a night flight and stopped to help. We gave Levi emergency care and when you two saw each other, you realized you were _asulae.”_

“The fact that we scent-marked each other this early can also be explained by being _asulae_ ,” Levi added, tracing his fingers lightly over his neck unconsciously. Eren was a bit confused; was it considered improper behavior to do so this early? Though they had just met a few short hours, Eren allowed. In his culture doing anything more than talking was considered improper, much less grinding against a tree.

“We do have certain rules and traditions to follow when courting,” Levi explained, seeing the way Eren was looking a bit confused. “However, more leeway is given to the timeline and what is acceptable behavior due to the more intense nature of the bond between _asulae_.”

“Ah… okay,” Eren said, still a bit lost but accepting the simple explanation. There would be time later to ask more, but for right now they had to focus making sure Eren had a plausible backstory. “Wanderer, owl attack, scent marking,” Eren muttered, making mental notes in his head and committing them to memory. “Uh, where did I come from? What was I doing before this?”

“Your horns make that hard. Notice how our horns look similar?” Isabel asked, pointing between herself and the other two Moonglow sprites before gesturing at his. “I’ve never seen ones like yours. You don’t share any common traits with the other races either.” Eren's heart sank at the proverbial wall they’d run into before Isabel snapped her fingers with a sly grin. “What about, you know, saying he’s a Tidal-”

“You idiot,” Levi said sharply, giving her a light smack to the back of her head and cutting her off. She pouted and rubbed the back of it, glowering at Levi. “We’d just be digging ourselves into a hole. They’d ask too many questions that we don’t have the answers to.”

“Can we say I was found abandoned when I was young?” Eren suddenly asked, remembering his father’s rounds to the nearby orphanages. The kids there never knew their parents’ medical history and it always made diagnosing and treating genetic and deep-seated illnesses difficult. “It would explain why I don’t know where I came from.”

Levi gave him an assessing look, tilting his head a bit in thought. His opal charm waved a bit and Eren's eyes were drawn to it. He rather liked it; the wide band around the horn combined with the brown vest gave him a bit of a roguish air, Eren thought, getting a bit distracted.

“A bit weak,” Levi eventually said, words coming out slowly, “but not completely unbelievable.”

As if anticipating Eren's question – and yeah, he had a lot of those so it made sense - Levi told him, “We’re very family-oriented creatures. To leave a fledgling abandoned is… uncommon to say the least. If something happens to a young sprite, they are either taken in by kin or raised by the community as a whole. Yet… if you were with parents and they were killed outside of a community or traveling without any close kin…” Levi sighed and shook his head. “It’s not a strong excuse, but it’s better than trying to explain away why you look different.”

“Do you think I could be one? A Tidalwave sprite?” Eren asked, reaching up to brush his hand over his new horns, grimacing a bit at the thought.

 _That’s going to take some getting used to_ , he thought, imagining whacking them against the tops of doorways and falling flat on his ass.

“Considering you were human earlier tonight, it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” Farlan muttered.

A lot of things weren’t ‘outside the realm of possibility’ anymore, Eren thought with a bit of humor.

In the course of a few hours he’d discovered sprites were real, found out other magical and/or mythical creatures were real, experienced magic firsthand, was turned into a mythical creature himself, found his soulmate and had pinned said soulmate against a tree to rut frantically against each other, incapacitated said soulmate by yanking at his horn and had flown on wings he'd inexplicably grown.

Well, at least Eren wasn't bored anymore.

All things considered, Eren thought he’d remained remarkably and impressively level-headed about the entire thing. Though now that he thought about it… wasn’t it a bit odd that he’d placed such unwavering faith in the sprite from the moment he’d woken up changed?

“So. After I was abandoned as a, ah, fledgling, who took me in?” Eren asked, still a bit unsettled at his inner musings.

“Considering that you know the most about us, another Moonglow community would be the safest bet,” Levi said and Farlan and Isabel nodded.

“We’re fairly reclusive, so no one in Rose should know families from there and shouldn’t ask,” Farlan told him, drawing his knee up and giving Eren a thoughtful look. “If they do, say you left the commune early and have been traveling as a _valus_ as soon as you were able to.”

Levi fixed him with a coolly assessing look, his silvery eyes seeming to size Eren up wordlessly. “This is going to be a lot, Eren. Can you handle it?”

He looked back into gray eyes shining with reflective silver and felt that anxiety creeping up again and leaving him feeling a bit nauseous.

Could he turn his back on his past life and forge ahead to accept this new one without a single backwards glance? He hadn’t even tried to see if there was a way to reverse the change; Eren had just blindly accepted that this was his new reality. One glance from Levi’s silver eyes and he’d been _gone,_ unable to even fathom being apart from the enchanting little sprite.

Back in England, his life had been secure, if a bit boring. His friends were good people, and while his father was somewhat distant nowadays, he still took the time to explain the clinic’s workings to Eren, taking him on as an apprentice. He’d still have to go to medical school to become a licensed doctor, but Eren had been happy learning under his father for the moment, learning the ropes.

It was a comfortable, stable life, but something had seemed to be missing from it. Eren had felt a subtle emptiness as he went through the routines dictated by society, one that would grow into bitterness if left to fester for too long. 

This expedition hadn’t meant to last forever; it had been a spur of the moment decision. He’d seen an article about this newly discovered country, read the advert and the next day he was making his way to sign up for the expedition. Eren had fully expected to get whatever lust for adventure and freedom he had out of his system here and return home a calmer, more experienced man.

This… whatever had happened was so sudden and life-altering, yet he’d simply accepted it without question. Accepted that he wasn’t going to be returning home. 

But maybe _this_ was why he’d felt drawn to venture from England. He’d been unconsciously yearning for something more; Levi was offering him the freedom he had craved, a place to belong and the connection that he had sought for so long. The bond he felt connecting him to Levi was practically tangible, the sprite’s presence eliciting a warm sense of rightness within him.

There would be things to learn, new rules to follow, but already he could tell that they weren’t anywhere as restrictive as Victorian England.

And now, with those lustrous eyes on him once more, a silent question lurking in their depths, Eren knew that there was only one answer he could give.

_I’ll follow you wherever you lead._

Eren gave a little laugh, shaking his head a bit at himself. His choice had been made the moment he really _saw_ Levi and for a split second in time, his world had narrowed down to contain nothing more than the little sprite looking at him with wonder in his silver eyes.

Eren wasn’t going anywhere unless Levi was by his side.

“I don’t really have any other choice.” He’d said it more to himself than Levi, but the sprite heard it anyway.

“There’s _always_ another choice,” Levi said with such intensity that it startled Eren a bit. “If you don’t want to do this, we can pack and leave the commune, become _valae_ ourselves.” He glanced away, scanning the distance. “Once you become more comfortable and we teach you more, we could join the Shiganshina commune.”

“I…” Eren was struck almost dumb. It wasn’t quite what he’d meant when he’d said there wasn’t another option, but it wasn’t Levi’s fault for misreading it.

But to think that Levi was willing to uproot his whole life, to leave everything behind and strike out into the forest for him. Isabel and Farlan were looking out for him too, and he knew that wherever Levi went, they would follow. He imagined roaming the forests, just the few of them for awhile, learning more about sprite culture and eventually settling in a community with others like Levi, other Moonglow sprites.

In a way, it sounded appealing, but… also very lonely. Eren himself was social, craved structure and friends. He wanted to build a life with Levi, to keep him safe and happy. It was unfair to make him leave, especially when Levi hadn’t asked for anything from Eren. He’d spent so much time explaining things to Eren, taught him how to fly and so much about their new culture and asked for nothing in return.

Eren couldn’t rip Levi away from what he’d known, from the home he’d made here. For Levi’s sake, he would do this; he’d breeze through this meeting and become one of them.

Also… Eren wanted to learn more about the sprites. He was one of them now; he wanted to become part of their community. If he took off alone with Levi now, he’d forever feel like an outcast, just like he did in England. It was a fresh start and Eren would get this right, no matter the cost.

But it was also a defining moment for Eren; Levi was as invested as he was, willing to take a drastic measure just to make Eren happy. _Yeah,_ Eren thought, a small smile playing on his face. _There’s nothing more I want than to be here._

“No,” Eren said, his voice firm with resolve. “I want to do this. To stay here with you. I won’t lie, I’m a bit intimidated, but I can do it.”

A determined light made Eren's eyes bright and his shoulders square with conviction, Levi saw. He had faith in Eren; he hadn’t disappointed yet. Eren was special, Levi knew. He’d adapted quickly, taking everything in stride and being remarkably good-natured about the sudden change thrust upon him.

Maybe later he’d crack a bit, Levi thought. It was a heavy weight on Eren's shoulders, and everyone had the point where they started to splinter and if pushed too hard, would eventually snap. But right now, Eren was trying extremely hard, soaking up information like a sponge and thirsting for more with each bit he learned.

If the day ever did come when Eren started to crack under the pressure and knowledge that he suddenly had a new body, a new life and species that he belonged to now, then Levi would be there to help hold him together and pick up the pieces. But for right now, Eren was okay. When the time came to meet Erwin, as long as Eren didn’t make any obvious mistakes and left the talking to Levi, they would be fine.

“Good,” Levi murmured, wings giving a lazy flap behind him, showing that he was pleased. A soft light of approval was within Levi’s eyes; Eren knew he’d made the right choice, both to stay with Levi and in Rose. “ _Valae_ aren’t known for their strong social skills; moreso if you left Shiganshina early. No one will be expecting you to be perfect. Answer what you can, bullshit if you need to, and I’ll fill in the rest,” Levi said, words blunt. Absolutely charming. “Let us do most of the talking.”

“You’re an alpha who just found his _asula_ ,” Farlan cut in, giving him a reassuring smile. “You can write off being unwilling to talk because of that. If it comes down to it, just posture a bit and we can use it as an excuse to get this over with quickly.”

“Alright,” Eren nodded. Remembering the parties and public gatherings he’d attended back in his old country and the proper procedures for greeting others, especially of a higher social status, Eren asked, “Is there anything I should know for this meeting?”

“Address the Head Alpha as such, or Alpha Smith. No matter what your instinct dictates, don’t make any aggressive or challenging movements or sounds,” Levi warned him. “This community is not formal, so whatever poses for polite in human society will probably pass here. Don’t call attention to other dynamics or your own. Just… do what you’ve been doing so far and you should be fine, aside from asking questions.”

“Alright,” Eren said, rubbing the back of his neck and giving a small, nervous smile. “I think I’ve got it.”

Levi’s eyes softened and he reached forward to lay a hand on Eren's shoulder. HIs warm lavender scent enveloped Eren, soothing and reassuring. “It will be fine. Be calm and think logically during it.” Levi’s hand slipped down to his chest, and Erwin could feel his heartbeat starting to pick up its pace at even the slightest contact from the omega. “If all goes well, Erwin will accept you into the community. You’ll feel a bit like you did when I cast my glamour. When he holds out a palm to you, step forwards and lay your hand over his heart, as I’m doing to you. Once he inclines his head, follow his lead and incline your head to very, very carefully touch your horns to his.”

Eren nodded and then raised his hand to place it over Levi’s. The sprite was short, but as Levi bent his head slowly Eren matched his movements and curled forwards to very, very softly touch his horns to Levi’s. It sparked a warmth within Eren's chest as they remained there for a moment; something within Eren recognized the gesture and it rumbled in satisfaction upon feeling the faint bond of two kindred sprites connecting. 

But then Levi was tilting his head back up and while Eren mourned the loss of Levi’s warm presence, he forced himself to focus and gracefully straightened. As Levi withdrew his palm and stepped back, Eren rubbed his chest almost absently. There was a faint tingle that lingered, though it was fading rapidly.

“Good,” Levi nodded, brushing his own fingers over his chest. “Do that when Erwin accepts you; he will, so we won’t worry about ‘what-ifs.’”

Eren's eyebrows raised a bit at that. Levi was extremely confident that Eren wouldn’t muck this up.

“Is this some sort of… farewell? Or a welcoming gesture of some sort?” Eren asked, a bit confused at the gesture itself. It felt so much more intimate than a handshake or a hug, and yet he was to do it with someone he’d just met.

After a moment of thought, Levi gave a considering hum. “In a way. I’m sure you felt it, but touching the two vital points sparks a connection between two sprites. It’s as if we’re acknowledging one another on a deeper, more spiritual level.”

“It’s not used as a common greeting or goodbye,” Farlan told him firmly, not wanting Eren to commit a faux-pas that would leave both parties embarrassed. “So until you learn more of our culture, don’t use it unless someone holds out their palm first.”

Eren gave a small laugh at that, shaking his head a bit. “Good god, there’s just so much to learn; I won’t be comfortable doing that for a long time.”

Levi tilted his head a bit, nodding slowly. “After we meet Erwin, we can seclude ourselves for a few days and give you time to get comfortable with the changes and teach you more.”

It was strange, Eren suddenly thought, that Levi called the alpha by his first name after being so insistent that nothing less than being respectful and therefore formal would be acceptable. “Why do you call him by his first name? Is it not required outside of formal meetings?”

Levi’s face softened just a bit at the question. “It is, but he’s become a friend of sorts and extended the invitation to not use titles when outside of the public eye. He was the one who convinced his father to take us in after Maria fell.”

“Of sorts?” Eren asked. His instincts woke up a bit at the last bit, inherently disliking the thought of any alpha getting too close to Levi. It shocked Eren a bit; he’d seen other men discreetly back home in a casual fashion, but never had he felt this wholly consuming possessiveness as he did with Levi.

“He’s the one the community would probably pressure Levi to bond with if they found out he’s an omega, so…” Isabel trailed off and Farlan picked up where she left off.

“Puts a damper on any sort of friendship when the friend in question is also a potential ball and chain, wouldn’t you say?” Farlan stage-whispered, smirking a bit.

“Shut it,” Levi hissed, his scent turning a bit bitter with irritation. He leveled a glare on the two of them before jerking his head up towards the community. “You two, go back to your hollow and get cleaned up. Your wings are filthy.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Isabel muttered, rising to her feet and brushing off the seat of her pants. Eren saw Levi cringe a bit at the slight bit of dirt that remained. “Clean freak.”

 _Levi likes cleanliness,_ Eren thought appreciatively. He was no slob himself, and his father demanded a high level of cleanliness at his clinic that had been drilled into Eren. Levi didn’t look the type to let himself or his things get dirty and Eren definitely approved.

“We’ll come find you at your hollow when we’ve finished,” Farlan told him before nudging Isabel and taking off. The redhead poked her tongue out briefly before following and Eren couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle.

He quite liked Isabel and Farlan, Eren thought to himself with a swell of fondness. Isabel’s excitability and Farlan’s steadfast presence balanced out Levi’s brusque nature well, though there wasn’t a thing he’d change about the omega’s nature.

Levi was quite perfect as he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine their wings to be somewhat of a cross between a butterfly’s wings and those of a bat. I like the bright, shiny colors and shape of butterfly wings, but for some reason, the scales of their chitin freak me out. Plus, sprites have a pretty active life and are proportionally heavy so I imagine that they’re made of a soft, thin and study skin like that of a bat’s, though a bit thicker and maybe with thin, small tendons and muscles that let them twist and curl them to a certain degree.
> 
> Man, sometimes the shit that’s in my head doesn’t translate well when I try to write it down, and then I over-explain things trying to make it clear and like, writing is fucking hard sometimes, man.
> 
> I was not a biology or physiology major, so I could be completely off my rocker in thinking they’d work like I think they would. But at the same time, it’s fiction, so do you really give that much of a fuck?
> 
> It's like 6 in the morning and I haven't slept yet. Formatting got a bit fucked so I had to delete and reupload; sorry if it caused any confusion


	3. The heat of daylight spreads through the world; we carry the warmth on our shoulders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi’s face had an odd expression, like all he wanted was to strangle Erwin while at the same turn on his heel and flee.
> 
> And Levi was certainly torn between the two desires, unsure of which he wanted to do more. Actually, no, he just really, really wanted to leave, but if he did so now, he’d lose the community, his friends, his home. 
> 
> Levi glared at Erwin, stance stiff and wings trembling in muted anger.
> 
> Of all the things… he hadn’t expected Erwin to be able to put the pieces together. Though, if it hadn’t been for the book he spoke of, then it probably wouldn’t have happened. Levi himself had been hoping to write it off as a strange turn of fate, but then again…
> 
> That was exactly what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I’m a sucker for domestic shit and I wrote this story to be fluffy with eventual nasty, kinky sex, so have some fluff and Eren and Levi just being super duper gone for each other and realizing that they both like the other person a lot. (if you're looking for the latter part, that's gonna be Chap. 5 and 7.) 
> 
> My inspiration for the sprites was drawn heavily from the elves in the Dragon Prince, because they're just super cool. I imagine Levi’s facial marks to look like Rayla’s from the show, while Eren's look a bit like Queen Khessa’s, though a bit thinner and more shifter-y.

“Brat,” Levi muttered, raking his hand through his hair as he watched them depart. His scent turned a bit odd, like lavender blooms going stale. It made Eren's nose wrinkle a bit.

 _He’s nervous,_ Eren realized. He’d been so focused on his own worries and apprehension that Eren hadn’t realized how stressful this had to be for the sprite. Levi’s life had been greatly changed too, the alpha realized. He could see the tense line of Levi’s back, the stiffness in broad shoulders and Eren reprimanded himself for not paying closer attention.

“Come on,” Eren said quietly, giving a reassuring smile. “Let’s go to your… hollow? Right?” Levi nodded and Eren was thrilled at getting the word correct. “We can rest for a bit and I’ll help you with your leg. It will be good to get off it for a bit.”

“Yeah,” Levi agreed. “I need to change anyway,” he said, waving his wings a few times before spreading them. “I feel disgusting after sitting on the dirt and these pants are missing a leg.” He launched into the air, hovering on fluttering wings above Eren and watching as the alpha followed his lead. His tongue poked out of his mouth in concentration and Levi couldn’t help but think it was cute.

Fuck, but Eren was endearing.

Once Eren was successfully in the air, Levi watched as he concentrated on hovering, bobbing a bit in the air. “To hover, you want quick, light beats of your wings,” Levi instructed, flitting a bit closer to Eren to let him see his own movements.

Eren saw that instead of attempting to beat his wings wide and fast, Levi’s four wings almost rapidly flicked through the air. He adjusted his tempo, increasing his flapping while shortening the beats. Instantly, found it much easier.

“That’s it.” Levi’s voice was closer to his ear and he turned his head to find the sprite flitting closely in front of him, looking over his shoulder to observe. “A bit shorter and faster,” he told Eren.

“Kind of like you?” Eren said unthinkingly, in an attempt to tease. He then paled as Levi’s hooded eyes widened slightly and he realized what he’d said. “Ah, shit, I didn’t mean-”

“Just shut up and follow me,” Levi said, rolling his eyes. He was a bit miffed at being called short, sure, but it was an unavoidable fact that in general, omegas were shorter and slimmer than their alpha and beta counterparts. Levi didn’t usually let it get to him; he more than made up for his height with the muscle he’d built over the years. While he wasn’t rippling with them, no one could call him slim or weak.

It was part of what helped him masquerade as a beta for so long; omegas were rarely as muscular as he was, but for betas and alphas, it was natural. No one would look at him and assume his true dynamic, a fact Levi was proud of. 

Eren seemed a bit abashed as he quickly nodded and so Levi set off, winging upwards. At least the omega didn’t look angry, he thought.

Levi set a faster pace, both to push Eren a bit and because he wanted to get to his hollow. Besides, he’d never been one for coddling and Eren didn’t need it.

True enough, Eren kept up with him, though Levi could sense his wings were starting to get tired after all the work they’d been put through tonight. He was likely to be sore tomorrow, Levi mused, twisting easily through the branches with practiced, agile ease. Eren had a bit more trouble and more than once he heard leaves rustling as Eren wasn’t able to avoid them.

But he did well and it wasn’t long before the branch leading out from his hollow appeared. To the outside eye, it looked like a simple circle carved into the tree and covered with a heavy, dark curtain woven from plant fibers. It served to give him privacy and keep the harsh sunlight out; there was a small hole in the side of his hollow that served as a window and it had a smaller, similar curtain over it as well.

He landed on the branch and as Eren came to a halt next to him, Levi gestured. “This is mine,” he said, feeling a strange swell of nervousness run through him.

His omega wanted Eren to approve of his home, Levi realized. While his home was spotlessly clean, it was simple in design and furnishings. Moonglow were a simple race who prized simple elegance and open spaces over decorations. Levi felt no need for the trappings that the Sunlight sprites so loved and while comfortable, his hollow was a bit spartan in nature.

“Wow,” Eren breathed, examining the entrance a bit closer. “You all really do live in these hollows. How many are there?”

“Take off your shoes,” Levi said before answering Eren's question, holding aside the curtain and watching as Eren toed off the illusionary boots. “Each tree holds approximately 3 hollows; any more and it would weaken the structural integrity of the tree.”

Levi bit back his nervousness and limped inside, nose scrunching at the thought of tracking in mud and dirt but unable to do anything about it. With his leg the way it was, he’d have to sit first and be careful when sliding his boot off. It throbbed and Levi wished he could just say ‘fuck it’ and heal the damned thing already. Without knowing the true extent of damage, however, that was unwise.

Realizing it would be too dark for Eren to see well, Levi called up his magic and summoned a small, cool ball of light and flicked it upwards. It hovered at the top center of the hollow, well out of their way and illuminating the room in a soft white glow. Rather like moonlight, it didn’t hurt Levi’s eyes and was bright enough for Eren to see around the interior of the hollow without having to squint or strain to do so.

Eren slid the curtain aside cautiously and followed him inside, setting his boots on the thick little woven mat near the entrance. He then straightened and eagerly took a good look around, excited to see how Levi and the other sprites lived. A lot could be told about someone by seeing how they lived and Levi was no different.

“This is yours?” Eren asked, a bit of wonder tinging his voice as he looked around, taking it all in. “It’s… _wow_ ,” he breathed, lovely teal eyes lighting up as they wandered over the hollow. “Just amazing. I love it.” His voice was warm and genuine, a small smile curling his lips up as his eyes traveled over the expanse of it.

Levi’s chest warmed a bit at that, his omega purring in satisfaction.

It was simple, but for a hollow in a tree, it was still elegant and homey. Levi was rather fond of it; he spent time making sure it was kept spotless and nearly all the furnishings were woven or carved by him.

There was a rounded dip carved deeply into the floor filled with a mixture of feathers and soft, fluffy plant material that looked to be from cattails. The large basin took up about a quarter of the hollow; it looked somewhat like a nest and Eren realized it was where Levi slept. It looked wide enough to fit two people comfortably and was deep enough to hold plenty of material to make it a soft place to rest. There was a stack of folded blankets next to it and the pillows appeared to be made of woven cloth and stuffed with soft bird down.

Eren imagined curling up next to Levi in the little nest-like bed every night, (or day, since he would most likely become nocturnal to accommodate Levi’s low tolerance to the sun) and had to bite his lip to hide a smile. Eventually, he dragged his eyes away from the bed to take in the rest of the cozy little hollow.

What Eren guessed to be shelves and low tables looked to be softly-rounded wooden blocks carved from the wall and floor. Near one table were a few cushions that appeared to be made out of the same soft cloth Levi’s clothes were made of and appeared to be a replacement for chairs. Spare leather straps and a harness hung from a wooden hook and a small stack of wooden and stone bowls and cups were placed neatly on the shelf. Folded clothes were piled neatly on other shelves; Levi didn’t have much, but what he did have was well taken care of and finely made.

The shelves went up to the ceiling and the hollow was tall and spacious enough for Levi to flit around inside of it without knocking anything over with his wings. It was an efficient use of the small living space and prevented him from having to use large, bulky cupboards or a wardrobe to house clothes and utensils.

Levi didn’t have much in the way of decorations; what he did have were in a myriad of shades of blacks, grays, whites, blues and purples. The dark décor made sense given his ability to see cooler-toned colors more easily, and they were fitting considering his connection to the moon and night sky.

Rugs of woven grass and softer dandelion fluff in simple, elegant patterns were placed all along the ground and under the cushions near the table. They were more for decoration, considering the wood floor of the hollow was soft and smooth. There were a few macrame wall hangings in similar shades; the ropes were woven and braided skillfully into various depictions of the moon and night sky.

It was more than Eren had anticipated, but at the same time, he hadn’t known what he’d really expected. “Is this… are all of the hollows like this?” Eren asked, still a bit stunned at how tasteful and homey it was. It was spacious despite only being one large room and everything had Levi’s touch to it, which made his alpha want to toss its head in pleasure.

“More or less,” Levi said, making his way over to the hooks. “Mine is rather plain compared to the hollows of Sunlight sprites, but I’ve never needed much.”

He reached to the side and undid the small, hidden buttons at the side of his vest, slipping it off around him without having to maneuver it around his wings. He folded it in half and laid it across a shelf to prevent getting wrinkles. With practiced motions, Levi unclasped the top of his harness and slipped it off, placing it on a separate hook to be oiled and primed later. He loosened the straps banding across his thighs, but would have to remove his boots first to slip them off.

“The community keeps spare hollows for visitors or newly presented sprites who no longer live with family,” Levi added when he sensed Eren still hadn’t moved and was simply looking around, taking it in. “When we were accepted here, this was one of the smaller and better-kept ones and it suited my needs.”

“How long did it take to carve it, I wonder?” Eren breathed. He ran his hand over an inner wall. The wood was smooth and almost soft, indicating it was still living. How did a tree have so many hollows in them but stay alive?

“Carve it?” Levi said, tilting his head a bit. “Why would we carve into a tree? That would only damage it and kill it.”

He turned to face Eren, looking around his own area with a small swelling of pride. He didn’t have much, but the things he had were all, for the most part, made by him. When his insomnia flared up, Levi liked to stay busy. There was something soothing about creating his own furnishings and being surrounded by things his own hands had wrought.

He always felt better when his hands were working; he supposed it was part of his omega nature. He’d gotten rather good at weaving and sewing, gathering materials and carving out his utensils. What little Levi wasn’t able to create had been gotten through trading, just as any other sprite.

“Then how…” Eren murmured, leaning forwards to stare at the wall in fascination.

“Earthshatter sprites help to build the communities,” Levi explained. “Their omegas are attuned to the earth and the flora that grows from it. We plant the seeds of trees and the omegas grow them rapidly, forming the trunks into these hollows and shaping the inside of them into living spaces as they grow.”

“So the different races help each other?” Levi was giving him a peculiar look and Eren felt the need to clarify. “I mean, this is a Sunlight community but Moonglow illusion magic helps it stay hidden and the Earthshatter sprites help build new homes.”

“No, you’re right,” Levi said, shaking his head a bit. “Just surprisingly intuitive for someone who just became aware of this. Yes, bonded omegas and their mates make rounds once every season to the nearby communities to share their skills; they renew the community’s glamour or plant more trees for hollows if needed, among other things.” Levi carefully walked over to the low wooden table and lowered himself onto a cushion in front of it. “Sunlight omegas travel to fulfil smithing requests, though sometimes they settle in other communities for a longer period of time if they like the community or it’s in desperate need of a live-in smith. Skybound omegas act as flight instructors and help fledglings learn to fly through controlling the air,” he said, stretching out his injured leg with care.

Eren immediately followed him, wings waving a bit as he dropped to his knees. “Does your leg hurt?”

“Of course it hurts, you tossed me into a tree and twisted it,” Levi deadpanned. Eren winced at that, feeling a deep-seated remorse. The omega sighed and reached out to ruffle his long brown hair, carefully skirting the aqua-colored horns. Eren's hair was a bit wild; they’d have to do something about it. “It’ll get better once I have Hanji take a look at it and heal it, but we need to deal with Erwin first.”

“At least let me help you rebandage it; I’m sure the grass is going bad by now, and you said you have better bandaging materials,” Eren said, accepting the ruffling of his hair as a silent apology for being snippy. Levi was obviously hurting and he could smell the slightly bitter scent of anxiety that soured the omega’s normally sweet scent at the thought of having to face the Head Alpha. “We should get you out of those tight pants and straps as well,” Eren said, already reaching down to carefully tug at a long leather boot, supporting Levi’s hurt leg with his other hand.

The limb was surprisingly heavy, and Eren could feel muscle rippling underneath the grip he had on his thigh. It would be so, so easy to slide his hand up and under that shirt; he’d felt how hard Levi’s body was when it had been pressed against him earlier and he so wanted to see how it looked and felt underneath his hands.

Wanted to see all that pale, smooth skin laid out for him to smooth his hands over, to sink his teeth into it and mark it up with pretty bruises that would let everyone know that the omega belonged to Eren, and Eren alone.

“Oi, what’s wrong?” Levi’s voice broke him out of his musings and Eren shook his head, having difficulty shaking off his thoughts. He’d gone still, hand loosely gripping the leg and boot, staring at Levi’s chest and the enticing slice of it that was exposed by the deep ‘V’ of it.

“Nothing,” Eren muttered, shaking his head. He forced his wandering mind to focus and slipped Levi’s boot off. The omega hissed through his teeth and Eren murmured a soft apology under his breath as he sat it aside, setting the leg down gently and then slipping off the next one.

“Where are your bandages?” Eren asked. Levi jerked his head towards a shelf that Eren had missed, tucked off to the side of the hollow.

“Over there. I don’t have much because I can usually heal whatever hurts, even if I have to go on a night flight to do it,” Levi said as Eren stood and went to see the supplies. “There should be some bandages and beeswax there, though. Maybe some balm leftover from when I twisted my ankle.”

“How did that happen?” Eren asked. He gathered up the thick roll of cloth that seemed to be woven from the same cotton fibers as Levi’s clothes, a little wooden pot of beeswax, a small knife for cutting the bandages, and then another little bot that smelled strongly of herbs. A glance to his side showed that there was a bucket of cool, clear water available. He cut off a bit of bandage and dipped it in there, wringing it out.

Levi’s lips twisted a bit as he looked down at his injured leg, distaste for the wilting grass wrappings showing plainly on his face. “Bad landing,” he muttered, plucking at the beeswax and starting to unravel the strand of grass. He seemed reluctant to talk about it and so Eren didn’t pry; he returned and set the gathered supplies out, using the dampened bandage to wipe off his hands.

He remembered that Levi appreciated cleanliness and by the mildly taken aback yet pleased expression on his face, Levi greatly appreciated it. He helped Levi undo the rest of the grass and pulled it off to the side, making a note to throw it out once he had finished wrapping the omega’s leg.

Gently, he used the cloth to wipe off Levi’s leg, brows furrowing as he saw the slight swelling in the ankle and knee, the smattering of bruises that littered the calf. “Shit,” he breathed, trailing his fingers gently over the darkening skin. “I didn’t realize…”

Eren's alpha was twisting in distress, berating himself for hurting the omega. He hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten and he suddenly felt sick at his earlier thought of wanting to put bruises of his own on Levi’s pale skin. He knew what it looked like now and it just made his stomach churn.

“Hey, Eren,” Levi called, watching him with inscrutable grey eyes. Out of the darkness of the night, that silvery sheen had faded away and left his eyes a pale, clear grey. “It’s alright; it was an accident and even after I woke up after passing out, I didn’t blame you. And you’ve apologized enough.”

Eren swallowed, eyes still tracing over the dark bruises that marred pale skin and seemed to blur the softly curved lines and curls that were etched onto Levi’s skin. “I probably won’t stop apologizing,” Eren admitted ruefully, gently wiping the beeswax and stray grass fibers off gently with the damp bandage, barely touching Levi’s skin as he worked.

“Idiot,” he heard Levi mumble, but there was a hint of fondness in the word that made Eren's heart a bit lighter. He set aside the cloth and reached for the small jar of balm, sniffing it a bit and dipping his fingers into it. It was thick but easily spreadable, with a slight honey scent. He wondered what it was made out of even as he carefully dabbed a bit onto Levi’s skin, starting at the knee and working down to his ankle.

Eren was gentle, almost achingly so and his hands were steady as he spread the soothing, numbing balm over his aching leg. Levi only felt a twinge of pain once or twice when Eren's fingers skimmed over a few of the deeper of the bruises.

Once he was done he wiped his hands on the cloth and set it aside for Levi to decide what to do with it later and then started unrolling the cloth bandages. Before he did, however, his hands hovered above the dark markings of Levi’s legs, tracing over the patterns.

“These are lovely,” he murmured, looking up at the omega through his lashes. “Is there any meaning behind them?”

Levi swallowed; the way Eren was looking at him was almost reverent and the way he was sitting so casually between his legs…

Levi sighed and laid down, staring up at the ceiling of his hollow to avoid looking at Eren and becoming sidetracked. “I’m sure they do, but I don’t know the exact meaning,” Levi eventually said, closing his eyes at the feel of Eren's large hands carefully working on wrapping the bandages around his ankle. Now that he wasn’t so much larger than Levi, he could do the wrappings with more skill and finesse. The numbing balm was doing the trick and Levi felt only a dull throbbing as Eren wrapped his leg. “They have similarities among the races, but no sprite’s markings are the same. They represent our dynamic for the most part and seem to be stylized in the element our races are attuned to.”

Eren gave a thoughtful hum and as he reached Levi’s knee and finished wrapping it, he reached over to scoop out some soft beeswax. He spread it over the ends of the bandages, sealing it and making sure it wouldn’t loosen or unwrap itself.

Levi was surprised when Eren caressed his knee gently and then brushed his lips over it in a soft kiss. “All done,” Eren told him, smiling as he stood and gathered up the medical supplies, returning them to their shelf and arranging them as he found them.

Levi simply stared as Eren puttered about, seeming at home in the small hollow already. His heart skipped a beat at seeing Eren so comfortable and relaxed in his home. His omega purred in contentment, and it was a shocking thing to realize that the warmth in his chest at watching Eren…

It was happiness. Levi was happy; not just content or okay, but truly happy. It was strange, but… _good_.

Eren gathered up the grass and after a slight deliberation, the damp cloth, placing them outside the hollow and being careful not to get any grass fibers anywhere inside. Eren was so careful and attentive that it made him feel even warmer, emotion swelling within his chest.

When the alpha finished, he came back and gently fingered the loosened leather straps on Levi’s legs. “Let’s get these off you,” he suggested. “I can get you a change of clothes as well, if you point them out.”

“I can get them on my own,” Levi said, quirking an eyebrow, but Eren shook his head.

“I want you staying off this leg. I know you’re more than capable,” he said, seeing Levi start to protest, “but… I feel like I need to take care of you and it’s hard to tell these instincts to stop,” he finished with a little smile.

He looked nervous, Levi thought, like he wasn’t sure if Levi wouldn’t approve or if he was doing something wrong.

And fuck if the thought of being taken care of didn’t appeal to him. With a sigh, Levi nodded. “Clothes are up there,” he told the alpha, jerking his head up at the shelf. “Pick something simple and looser than these goddamned pants. I can get these straps off.”

As Eren went to get his clothes, Levi swiftly slipped the straps off, coiling them and handing them up to Eren when the alpha returned, pointing silently at the hook where his harness hung. The clothes were placed at his side and Levi picked them up, inhaling the scent of freshly laundered cloth with a pleased hum. He set them aside and unbuttoned his trousers, untucking his shirt and starting to pull it over his head when he realized that Eren still hadn’t come back to his side. With a quick glance, he saw Eren's wings spread slightly, his back to Levi as the omega changed.

The tips of his ears looked a bit pink and Levi had to bite back a small laugh that threatened to escape. Good to know Levi wasn’t the only one affected, then. Quickly, he finished shucking his shirt and peeling himself out of the stupidly tight pants. Levi set them aside to be turned into scrap fabric later, since the missing leg made them unwearable.

The pants that Eren had retrieved were similar to his discarded pair but a bit more loose, comfortable and easy to slip on and off and the shirt was short-sleeved and dark. Both were casual, everyday clothes and Levi hummed in approval as he slipped them on, careful not to press against the bruised skin of his leg too much as he did so.

“You can turn around,” Levi called, a small thread of amusement winding its way into his voice. Eren slowly lowered his wings and did so, a sheepish smile on his face as he wandered back.

“I, ah, thought you’d want some privacy…” Eren started before he paused and scented the air, shaking his head a bit. A soft rumble started in his chest and Levi’s eyes widened as he came closer and – holy shit, was Eren prowling? It was a purely alpha behavior and Levi spread his wings a bit unconsciously when Eren dropped to his haunches and leaned forwards to sniff along his jawline.

A low, confused coo started in Levi’s throat, eyes slipping shut. Eren's scent was hard to pin down; while it didn’t seem angry or irritated, there was an odd thread of unease and something akin to jealousy that turned the smell of an ocean breeze a bit more pungent, musky and intense.

Eren's nose skimmed down and pressed into the hollow of Levi’s neck, making his throat bob as he swallowed. Levi let out a quiet trill, curious as to what Eren was doing. The vibrations from Levi’s throat and the sound made Eren pull back and he looked at Levi, head tilted.

I… can I…” Eren looked frustrated, his bright teal eyes gazing at Levi with longing as he was unable to find the words to voice his desires. The omega tilted his head, curious as to what the alpha wanted.

Eren looked like he was struggling to deal with the new, almost overpowering instincts that had suddenly been forced upon him. Levi’s expression softened at the thought. He remembered how hard it had been to adjust to them after his first heat when he presented, so Levi could empathize.

He figured it couldn’t be anything terrible; Eren's prime drive as an alpha and Levi’s _asula_ was to protect him, after all. It went against everything in Eren to harm him, and the horn thing…

Well, Eren hadn’t known, after all. There was a lot about their biology for the new alpha to learn. While it _had_ been shocking to experience the effect after hearing about and dismissing it for so long, Levi had immediately forgiven it. Eren hadn’t done it on purpose and looked horrified when he realized what he’d inadvertently done.

With that in mind, Levi let out a small breath and held up a hand to beckon Eren closer. “It’s alright,” Levi murmured. “Come here. What do you need?”

Immediately, Eren raked his eyes over Levi, looking a bit desperate. He lowered himself to his knees and raised his arms slowly, taking care not to spook his potentially flighty omega. Levi appreciated the care, though it made him inwardly roll his eyes. Eren was acting like he was going to take off and disappear at any moment.

Tentative arms wrapped around his shoulders, pulling Levi in close and then Eren's nose buried in his hair.

“You… I want you to smell more like me,” Eren muttered, his voice low enough that Levi’s keen ears had to strain a bit, and then the alpha let out a groan. “You don’t as much anymore and - god, this inner voice… it’s so _loud_.”

At that, Levi had to bite back a slight chuckle now that Eren's behavior was explained. When he’d changed clothes, it put a new scent on him and got rid of some of Eren's. While their scent marking ensured that they’d smell of each other for awhile, the fresh clothes bore none of Eren's scent. 

It made his omega purr in delight that his alpha wanted to mark him, to place that small bit of ownership on him and spread his scent all over Levi. “Yeah, it takes a bit of getting used to. My omega stays fairly quiet nowadays, but it still comes out in full force sometimes.”

“Your omega?” Eren asked in bewilderment and Levi could imagine the way Eren's eyebrows were drawn in confusion, a slight frown pulling at those full lips.

“Yeah,” Levi replied, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of the strong body, the broadness of the chest he was pulled against. “It’s what we call the pull of our dynamic’s instincts, how we refer to what they’re telling us to do. Those baser instincts are what guide us, though it does get annoying sometimes.” Levi took a deep breath, enjoying the comforting smell of ocean and sunshine emanating from Eren. “What’s your alpha telling you to do?”

Eren took a deep, steadying breath before giving a slight, contented hum as he nosed into soft, inky-black strands. Levi’s hair was silky and cool against the heated skin of his cheeks, sliding pleasantly over it. “It’s weird, but I kind of want to rub my neck all over you. Does it have to do with the oil that was on your neck earlier?”

The thought of having his alpha’s comforting, musky scent all over him sent a warm tingle through him and the corner of Levi’s lip twitched.

“Yeah,” he sighed, unable to deny he found the thought appealing. “Those oils are basically a sprite’s concentrated scent. Remember what Farlan said about scent-marking? It’s completely natural; having your scent on me is basically telling all the other sprites that you’re courting me. It serves as message and deterrence to other alphas and betas.”

Just the thought of other sprites getting close to Levi made Eren's inner alpha thrash in displeasure. Unconsciously, his lips curled and a warning growl started in his chest. When he realized what he was doing, it immediately cut off, though that lingering displeasure remained.

“May I mark you, then?” Eren asked, eyes closing as he attempted to reign in his snarling instincts. “I’m sorry, it’s just… god, this is hard,” he sighed, struggling a bit.

“I told you, it’s perfectly normal; expected even. Asking first is considered polite, so thank you.” Levi leaned in closer, subtly nosing at Eren's own scent gland. Due to their height difference and the way Eren was looming over him, it was a bit more difficult. Eren stiffened a bit as Levi’s nose skimmed just below his scent gland, a low, pleased rumbling starting in his chest.

The different cadences Eren could produce were interesting, Levi thought. He was starting to easily differentiate them and the thought that he was getting to know Eren, his _asula_ , in such a way was undeniably thrilling. The fact that Eren had asked for permission first impressed both Levi and his omega as well. A pleased, quiet trill escaped from him. Eren still hadn’t moved, and with a start, Levi realized he was still waiting for the go-ahead.

“It’s fine, Eren,” Levi sighed contentedly, more at ease now that he realized Eren was being respectful, cautious around him, unwilling to displease him. “Do as you like.”

His words had an immediate effect on Eren, because the alpha began to croon lowly in his throat and started rubbing his throat over Levi’s hair. His scent glands started to produce copious amounts of scent-laden oil after the first few swipes in an instinctive reaction to scent-marking.

Levi enjoyed the feel of the warm skin brushing over him, knowing his hair was absorbing Eren's scent. Eren's arms drew away and for a moment, Levi mourned their loss before he realized the alpha had simply shifted and was now rubbing the inside of his wrists along Levi’s arms, spreading the oil from the glands there over his skin.

It was an intimate, pleasurable experience, Levi thought, holding still and allowing the alpha to mark him. Every so often, Eren would shift a bit to nose through and sniff at his hair or draw back a bit to skim his nose over Levi’s arms before resuming the slow rubbing, ensuring his scent was all over the omega. The musky, almost spicy scent enveloped Levi and he felt almost drunk off of it.

Eventually, the motions of Eren's head and arms slowed, until with a last snuffle into Levi’s dark hair, the sprite seemed satisfied. He wrapped his arms around Levi, drawing the omega in close again.

“Thanks,” Eren mumbled into the soft strands, his alpha pleased and practically purring at his scent intermingling so heavily with Levi’s own sweet, lavender and honey one.

“Mm,” Levi hummed, a warm, content feeling building in his chest. “If you’d like, I can do the same to you,” he offered quietly. “My scent won’t be as strong as yours, but…”

Eren groaned at the thought as Levi trailed off, unable to suppress the sound at the thought of being enveloped in that sweet, intoxicating scent.

“God, yes,” he breathed. Eren realized he sounded a bit too eager, though. Embarassed, he bit his lip, drawing back a bit. “If you want to, that is.”

Levi rolled his eyes, though it went unseen. “Idiot,” he chided, pulling back and reaching up to fist a handful of illusionary shirt. He jerked Eren down until he was stooped over a bit.

The alpha’s eyes widened and he let out a small, shocked noise at being manhandled. Eren probably hadn’t realized _quite_ how strong he was, Levi thought, suppressing a smirk at the thought. There was a reason he’d been made Captain of his previous community’s Scouts, after all.

Well, near-Captain.

“This goes both ways,” he reminded Eren, referring to the emotions growing within them and the bond connecting them together. “Of course I want to.”

And then, without waiting any further, Levi brought his hands up to rub his wrists over Eren's neck. He felt the urge to pull the alpha closer and rub their throats together again, but he was still a bit wary considering what had happened the last time.

Not that Levi was particularly opposed, because _fuck_ , it had felt good. 

But he could sense that dawn would be coming soon and they still had to meet with Erwin. Eventually, he’d have to talk to Eren about what to expect as an alpha in the upcoming days as well. Before things progressed further, Levi wanted to talk about what their bodies would be gearing up for.

Eren's rut and Levi’s heat were looming on the horizon; as _asulae_ , there was no reason for them to put off bonding, no reason to seek out other potential suitors and test their compatibility. They were basically made for each other, and their bodies had recognized that fact as soon as their eyes met.

Levi hadn’t been through a heat since his initial one a long time ago, but it had taken its toll. He’d known what to expect and it was still more intense than Levi had thought it would be. If Eren was going to be there with him for it, Levi wanted the alpha to know what to expect.

But that could wait, Levi thought, returning his focus to marking Eren. His scent was potent, but lighter in nature than Eren's. It would be harder to catch under the headiness of Eren's own, but it would still be discernable. The thought had a pleased purr threatening to build and escape his lips. With precise movements, he spread the oil starting to leak more copiously from his wrists into Eren's neck and then brought the alpha’s arms up and rubbed his the more potent oils from his neck down the expanse of smooth, tanned skin.

Chancing a glance up at Eren, he saw the alpha’s eyes were heavy-lidded and his nostrils were flared. He was taking in their intermingling scents, Levi realized. He inhaled deeply, and a spur of arousal flared when he realized how nicely their scents combined. It smelled like lavender fields by the seaside, light and heady scents mixing together to create something even more compelling.

“Levi,” Eren said, voice hoarse. “We… we should stop. My alpha… I think it’s getting too worked up.”

Levi hummed a bit, feeling a bit dazed at the heady pheromones infusing the air. He wasn’t anywhere near as gone as he had been earlier, when he’d been pressed against the tree, though. It was hard to fight back his omega’s desire to keep going, to keep rubbing his scent all over the handsome alpha, but after smoothing his neck over Eren's arms one last time, he reluctantly drew away.

Levi had to admit that Eren was showing an impressive amount of control; it would have been so, so easy to keep going and follow the urges that would eventually lead to them fucking on the floor of his hollow. Levi took a deep breath and looked up at Eren.

There was a fond, soft look in his eyes that made something twist within Levi’s chest pleasantly.

A low hum started in Eren's chest and he reached out, still being so careful as he cupped Levi’s face in his large hands. “Your facial markings are lovely,” Eren said, staring down at them, taking in the way they curved over high cheekbones, the points drawing attention to well-shaped lips. 

“Yours aren’t too bad either,” Levi said, tracing over the curved semicircle and sharp lines adorning Eren's face. “They’re very unique.”

Eren grinned unabashedly at the comment and Levi rolled his eyes, pulling away a bit. “My leg feels better,” he admitted, the medicinal salve already starting to work, alleviating some of the aching pain that shot through it if he moved it too sharply. “I’ll try to stay off it as much as possible, but there’s one last thing we need to do before Isabel and Farlan come back.”

“What’s that?” Eren asked, mourning the loss of his omega’s attention a bit, but still riding high on their intermingling pheromones and the compliment Levi had paid him.

“There’s a bowl and cloth on the shelf up there,” Levi said, pointing at a small, protruding block on the other side of the hollow. “Bring it to me and then let me see your wings.”

Dutifully, Eren did as Levi asked. The bowl was filled with a slightly oily substance and had an almost nutty, sweet smell. He carefully brought it to Levi and then turned, sitting so that his back was facing the omega.

Levi tugged on Eren's shoulder, making him scoot closer and then set the bowl on the table. He dipped the soft woven cloth into it and then wrung it out before draping it over the edge.

“This is a mixture of nut oil, nectar, and water,” Levi explained. “It’s used on our wings and while it has a myriad of purposes, the most important is that it keeps them clean and healthy. Having dirty or dull wings is a sign of ill health or lack of basic hygiene.”

Eren's head was tilted, showing that he was listening and so Levi took gentle hold of one wing and laid it out halfway across his lap. The alpha seemed to get the gist of what he wanted and helpfully tilted and moved his wing for easy access.

Levi eyed the wing; they were a bit dull from never having been preened before, but as new as they were, there was very little dirt or grime to be seen on them. Levi picked up the cloth and then with a light touch, started at the tip and began smoothing the oil over the sensitive, soft skin, doing both the front and back at the same time.

Eren jerked a bit at the initial touch and then gave a low, breathy noise, a small shudder overtaking his shoulders at the feel of the warm, silky oil.

“That feels… _wow_ , that’s really nice,” Eren told him. Levi’s omega purred a bit at that and a comfortable silence fell as Levi worked the oil into Eren's wings. As he did so, he could already feel the way the skin softened, soaking up the liquid. His already lovely wings gained a brighter sheen, the aqua deepening and taking on a new depth. The veins of dark blue and green shone brightly, as if freshly polished and Levi felt a sense of contentment that he hadn’t known possible as he cared for Eren.

Levi had finished one wing and was currently down half of the other one when Eren spoke, his deep voice rumbling quietly through the room.

“This is nice,” Eren whispered, and though Levi didn’t respond or stop his gentle preening, he had to agree. There was a comfortable, relaxed air permeating the hollow and their mingled scents and pheromones still lingered in the air. They wouldn’t dissipate unless Levi completely aired the hollow out and felt no desire to do so. “I feel… happy, but I can also sense that you’re content, and it makes me happy that you feel that way. Is this what being bonded is like?”

Levi gave a soft, affirmative hum in his throat that turned into a low coo. “I was always taught that being bonded asulae is like… two halves clicking together. A push and pull; caring for and being cared for. It will only grow stronger once we’re properly bonded.”

Eren nodded his head a bit to show he’d heard and soon, Levi had finished and was trailing his hands gently over Eren's wings, admiring their new gloss and way the deep aqua shone under his conjured light. It was easier now to see the threads of sapphire and emerald, the jewel-like tones an exotic hue that Levi had never seen on a sprite before.

He had to suppress the satisfied trill that threatened to escape. Eren's wings were gorgeous and his omega preened at the thought; the alpha would most likely turn many heads, but he belonged to Levi.

“Thank you,” Eren said once Levi’s fingers left his wings. He gave them a soft, tentative flap and Levi was pleased at the way they shone, catching the light. They were quieter as they moved through the air, dry skin no longer making them rustle as Eren waved them. The alpha let out a satisfied coo that made Levi’s omega perk up. Eren turned to give Levi a bright smile, carefully closing his wings behind his back so as to not hit the sprite in the face. “I should do yours too, right?”

Levi paused, considering Eren for a second. His illusory clothes were clean, his wings shone with health, but… Eren's hair was wildly tangled. It wouldn’t do to go before Erwin with Eren's hair looking so messy.

“It would be helpful,” Levi admitted. Two sets of wings meant it took him longer to preen and he usually had to have Isabel’s help doing the spots he couldn’t reach in the middle of his back. She wasn’t the gentlest of helpers either, a bit too overeager and rough with his sensitive wings. “Hold on, though,” Levi murmured. “One last thing.”

Levi unsheathe his small black claws to run them through Eren's hair. It was what his claws were for, anyway. While sharp and able to be used for defense, the claws of his dynamic were smaller, the tips tapered more and a bit blunter than the claws of an alpha. They were thin enough to be useful for delicate tasks, still sharp enough to cut through grass and fabric or carve wood, yet rounded at the tips enough to not scratch when using them to assist in preening.

The claws of Sunlight and Earthshatter omegas had special properties as well, something Levi was sometimes envious of. As a Moonglow omega, Levi’s own claws had no special properties simply because his magic had no need for it; Skybound omegas were the same way.

The claws of Sunlight omegas were resistant to heat and fire, allowing them to work with hot metal with ease. It made them excellent jewelry crafters, as they could handle the small, thin pieces of metal with ease and carve designs into them as well. The claws of Earthshatter omegas were shorter than those of other races, hard as diamond and able to claw through rock with ease to find gemstones, then cut them into many shapes with a dazzling array of facets.

Eren hummed as Levi’s nails raked through his hair, detangling and smoothing it out. It was soft and well-taken care of, just a bit wild from the wind and Levi’s fingers mussing it up earlier. After it was smoothed out to his liking, he reached out and ripped strip of fabric off of his pants. Levi carefully gathered it up as well as he could and then tied it up in a messy, yet neat bun.

“Now you’re presentable,” Levi murmured, trying not to stare at the way Eren's long neck and smooth slope where it transitioned into his shoulders was now exposed. Before, Eren's long hair had covered it, but now the skin was exposed and Levi had to admire the long, elegant neck.

It was the same neck he’d be biting into soon to bond them together when his heat came. His eyes traveled along the smooth column, admiring the soft skin. He sheathed his claws and trailed his fingertips along the nape of Eren's neck, smoothing a few stray hairs out of the way.

Eren huffed a soft laugh at Levi’s words, shivering a bit and then turned to regard Levi with an appreciative look. With his hair up, Levi could see all of his face and all Levi could think was that holy fuck, Eren was _gorgeous._

His large, bright teal eyes sparkled and his bronzed skin glowed, the hours in the sunlight doing wonders for his complexion. His cheekbones were high and Levi could see the full extent of his facial markings. A black crescent curved over the swell of his high cheekbones, starting at his temple. Underneath the crescent, slanted lines streaked towards the edge of his face and served to draw attention to the prominent feature.

Levi knew Eren was handsome before and had been appreciative of the fact, but seeing him like this now practically struck him dumb. What the fuck had he done to deserve someone like Eren?

“Thanks,” Eren repeated, tilting his head a bit at the way Levi was staring at him so intently, unable to deduce what the omega was thinking. He reached out to trail his fingertips over Levi’s face, jerking the omega out of the near-trance he’d gone into. “Here, let me do yours.”

Blinking, Levi licked his lips and nodded, a bit embarrassed at having staring so blatantly.

It was hard to pay attention when his omega was basically howling and writhing to have Eren toss him into his nest and fuck him senseless, though. Shaking his head at his own antics, Levi huffed a breath. “Right, yeah.”

Eren had been nothing but gentle with him thus far and a part of Levi was greatly looking forwards to Eren's hands smoothing over his wings. He’d finally be able to get all the harder to reach spots, the ones that seemed to get windchapped and dry the fastest because he couldn’t preen them quite as well as other areas. 

Eren gave him another smile and shuffled back, patting a soft floor rug. “Come here and lay down.”

Normally, Levi would have protested being spread out on the floor, but he kept his hollow spotless and dirt-free so it was with only a moment’s hesitation that he moved forwards. Eren held out a hand and he took it, letting the sprite help him down as he maneuvered with his hurt leg.

“Any reason in particular you want me on the floor?” Levi asked drily as he lowered himself down and pillowed his head on his arms. His charm twisted a bit, bumping against his horn and he flicked his head to settle it back into place.

He wiggled a little bit to lay more firmly on the rug, satisfied at the soft feeling of the woven surface. Levi went barefoot in his home often and hated the feel of dry, scratchy grass underfoot. He used a softer, thinner grass to weave the foundation and make it sturdy, then threaded in some softer, fluffier plant materials to make it soft and pleasant to walk on.

“I thought it would be good for you to stretch out your leg and this gives me easier access to your wings,” Eren explained, reaching to take the bowl and soft cloth, setting them within easy reach. “Double the wings means double the time and it’s starting to get light out. Farlan and Isabel will be back soon.”

“Hmm,” Levi hummed, accepting the answer. He relaxed onto the soft rug and stretched out his wings, groaning a bit as he did so. His muscles were a bit tired and sore, something Eren clued into with surprising acuity.

“Do you mind if I straddle your hips?” Eren asked, biting his lip a bit as he looked out at the omega spread out bonelessly on the floor, shimmering expanse of wings laid out in all their glory. “I can rub your flight muscles a bit as I work; consider it repayment for helping mine during the flight.”

Levi turned his head to the side, staring back at him through one hooded, pale grey eye. The sight made him bite back a satisfied purr; his alpha was _very_ pleased at the sight of the pretty omega spread out underneath him.

Levi could have moaned at the thought of having his sore muscles massaged. “It’s fine, go ahead,” he said, closing his eyes. He could hear Eren moving around a bit before he felt a warm weight straddling him. He lifted his wings up a bit so Eren wouldn’t accidentally trap them painfully under a knee and then laid them out again, their lower half draping over Eren's thighs.

“Mmm, good,” Eren hummed, and _fuck_ if that didn’t do weird things to Levi. It was oddly sensual having Eren straddle him like this. Though the sprite kept the full brunt of his weight off of Levi, it was still there, pressing him down into the floor.

A little bit higher and Eren's hips would be pressing against his ass.

Levi had to fight back the shiver that rippled through him at the thought. Levi forcibly pushed any thoughts away lest his arousal start to build and be scented. While he knew that Eren wouldn’t mind, he also couldn’t let them get distracted from the task at hand.

He heard the drip of liquid as Eren dipped the cloth into the liquid and wrung the cloth out; it made him remember how badly the oily liquid could stain. Alarm went through him and he lifted his head to see with some relief that Eren was being careful to wring the excess liquid out and keep it over the bowl.

“Get any of that on my floor and you’ll be scrubbing it for the next week,” Levi warned him, flipping the tip of a wing to flick Eren gently in the shoulder to get his attention. “It’s a bitch to get out and I refuse to have my wood or rugs stained.”

Eren laughed and gently took the lifted wing to start wiping the oil over the smooth surface. “I know you appreciate cleanliness,” Eren told him, trailing his free hand over the area he’d just oiled to make sure the liquid was being soaked up and he hadn’t used too much. “I promise to be careful; I wouldn’t dirty your home like that.”

Levi hummed in contentment and reassured that Eren would be careful, closed his eyes and focused on the soft cloth and large hands smoothing over his wings. It had been a full day since he’d preened and Levi could feel his wind-dried wings soaking up the hydrating oils gratefully. It felt so good to have someone take care of him like this. Eren's hands were almost reverent as they worked over him.

He knew Eren liked his wings; Levi relished in the attention and without really realizing what he was doing, he was flicking a finger to call over the light. He positioned it to catch the silver of his wings better, a thrill shooting through him when Eren paused and inhaled sharply before letting out a purr at the sight.

“Is… this silver, is it a common color for Moonglow sprites to have?” Eren asked a bit breathily before he returned to the task at hand.

Levi hummed thoughtfully, the tip of a wing flicking once as he thought. “It’s not common, but I’ve seen one or two other sprites with similar colors. One was more slate grey than silver and the other had a brassy tint to her wings. My mother had wings the same color as I do,” Levi told him quietly. “I think I remember her saying the color ran in our family at one point, but I was very young so I’m not sure.”

“Mm,” Eren purred, tracing a silver vein. “They are very lovely. I feel like I could look at them for hours and not be bored.”

Levi huffed, hiding a slight blush by turning his head. The praise and compliment made his omega writhe in delight, but Levi wasn’t used to such open, honest admiration. He rather liked it, though.

“I feel the same about yours,” he eventually murmured, so softly that Eren had to lean forwards and strain to catch it. “I’ve never quite seen a color like yours with such depth. It almost reminds me of the ocean.”

Eren made a soft croon of delight. “My childhood dream was to see the ocean,” he said wistfully. “Where I come from… the ocean is not close by and my family had obligations, so we were unable to travel although I know my father wanted to. It wasn’t until I came on this expedition that I was able to truly see it.”

Eren's voice was low and soothing as he spoke. Levi found himself unconsciously curling and twisting his wings as the cloth traveled over them in order to help Eren reach them. As the alpha finished speaking, he realized what Levi was doing and poked at a prominent flight muscle. Levi’s wings jerked a bit in shock before Eren dug his fingers and knuckle in to knead the tired muscle and then they drooped as Levi let out a blissful sigh.

“Don’t move,” Eren chided, guiding the curled top of a wing back down to lay against the ground. He continued smoothing the oil over Levi’s wings with one hand and used the other to gently rub at the swell of firm, toned muscles around the wings. “Just relax and let me take care of you.”

“Mmhph,” Levi groaned, shivering a bit and biting back a pleased moan as Eren's fingers worked magic on his tired back. He’d been flying a lot today and while he’d soothed Eren's aches, he hadn’t bothered to do so for himself.

Levi practically melted onto the rug, much to Eren's pleasure. He was suddenly very grateful that his father had taught him how to do medical massages for strained and sore muscles as part of his training.

Levi was basically like putty underneath him, relaxed and completely boneless. It made his alpha happy to take care of the sprite, though the small noises Levi was making were only serving to rile him up. He took deep breaths, focusing on the task at hand and keeping his eyes firmly on Levi’s wings and the sore muscles he was working the tension out of.

But fuck, it was hard, because years and years of constant flying and doing long-distance patrols and insane maneuvers had blessed Levi with a toned, lithe back that was rippling with muscle.

Desperate to distract himself and realizing that Levi was beginning to fall into a light sleep, Eren decided to keep conversation between them flowing.

“Besides keeping the wings clean, what else does the oil do?” Eren's voice was quiet and smooth and Levi shook himself awake a bit, not realizing he’d been starting to doze. Despite himself, he was tired; it had been a stressful night and with dawn coming, it was getting close to the time he usually bedded down.

He had to stay awake, though; they still needed to talk to Erwin. Going in half-asleep wouldn’t look good or be conducive to making Erwin believe their made-up story about Eren. He had to be alert and answer the inevitable questions carefully. He fed a bit more magic into the light he’d conjured to make it brighter in an attempt to prevent him from dozing off again.

Maybe Eren had noticed and this was his way of keeping Levi from getting too sleepy.

“It keeps the membrane of our wings soft and hydrated, which allows for a smoother, quieter flight,” Levi mumbled, lifting his head and clearing his throat. His next words came out stronger, a bit less slurred. “It also waterproofs them a bit, so water slides off and keeps them from getting too heavy in the case of bad weather.”

“That makes sense,” Eren said. He’d finished the front and backs of Levi’s top left wing; right as Levi went to raise his top set up so Eren could reach the thinner bottom one, Eren's hands grasped one in each hand and spread the two wings apart, pushing the bottom one to the left and top wing to the right. 

Levi’s eyes widened and he made a small noise in the back of his throat. No one, not even him had done such a thing before. It was strange to feel his upper and lower sets spread apart in such a way. Waving them separately to stretch them was something he did often, but this… there had never been a reason to do so and he’d never given much thought to it before.

It sent a shudder rippling through him, and Eren paused.

“Does that hurt?” Eren asked softly, fingers stroking over the smooth wing. “I don’t know if they’re meant to be spread apart that way.” He didn’t know if the muscles and tendons connecting Levi’s wings to his back would be strained if he pushed them out and away from each other too much, and he didn’t want to hurt the omega.

Eren's warm fingers distracted him momentarily, but after a second, Levi found his voice. “It doesn’t hurt,” he said, voice a bit hoarse. “Just… feels a bit weird. Not bad, though. No one’s really touched my wings before, especially not the lower set so close to the skin.”

“Why is that?” Eren murmured, fingers tracing a particularly bright silver vein close the base of his wings. It was a particularly sensitive spot and had Levi biting back a moan as it sent warmth tingling through him. The cloth was forgotten and it seemed Eren was more interested in his responses as the delicate wing shivered a bit in his grasp.

“They’re… wings are somewhat like horns,” Levi said, finding it hard to gather his scattered thoughts and form coherent words. “Only family or mates are allowed to touch them, and besides that, I… they’re not an easy spot to reach. And I’ve never needed to get that close to the skin before. Usually, making sure my back and wings are submerged when I bathe is good enough to clean them.”

“So no one’s ever touched this area?” Eren asked, voice going low and throaty as he slipped his fingers in between Levi’s two sets of wings, stroking over the smooth wing and soft skin. Levi jerked and then his shoulders slumped and he let out a long, shuddering moan. It was like electricity sparked through him as Eren's fingers pressed at that hidden area, questing and mapping out the way wing met skin, feeling the small swell of flight muscles there. They ran over the thin sliver of skin between the two sets and Levi sucked in a sharp breath.

His wings twitched helplessly under the attention and Levi all but melted onto the rug, claws digging into the soft material and threatening to leave deep rips. His eyes went heavy-lidded, all of his focus on the softly trailing touch.

“Does that feel good?” Eren whispered, as if afraid to disrupt the almost dreamy haze that had settled over them. Eren's scent grew a bit stronger as Levi’s own turned more potent, sweet in a way that Eren could almost taste on his tongue.

“Yes,” Levi hissed, sucking in a shuddering breath. He shifted, pressing his suddenly hard length into the floor, sighing a bit at the feel of pressure against the aching erection. He felt telltale warmth sparking deep in his stomach, the familiar wetness starting to pool within him.

A sharp inhale and the way Eren's scent suddenly spiked let Levi know that Eren could smell his arousal, the slick that he was starting to produce, and the low, pleased rumbling that started in the alpha’s chest was thrilling.

Goddess, what was Eren _doing_ to him? He was able to take Levi apart with such ease, reduce him to a shivering mess with just a few touches. It was as frightening as it was exhilarating. Levi bit his lip, unsure if he wanted to tell Eren to stop or keep going.

He didn’t have a chance to say anything either way, however. Still achingly gentle of sharp claws and the delicate, thin skin of wings, Eren parted them further and leaned in. His nose skimmed over that untouched sliver of skin and sensitive base of his inner wings, inhaling deeply before Levi felt a hot, soft touch. With a jolt, he realized that it was Eren's tongue that was dragging over sensitive skin.

“Eren,” he moaned, wings twitching feebly. “What- what are you-”

Eren withdrew only long enough to speak, and when he did, his voice was rough and gravelly. “If you’ve never really touched this area, then it probably needs to be clean, right?” he rumbled, and then he was dipping his head back down, laving over delicate skin in long, firm, licks.

It was strange; as he ran his tongue over Levi’s soft skin, there was a sweet, familiar taste on his tongue that was exactly like the oils from the gland on Levi’s neck. Pulling back a bit and peering at the skin, he saw a thin sheen of sweet oil and a small lump that Eren recognized as a scent gland. As Levi’s wings waved and flapped weakly, the slight current they created made Levi’s lavender and honey scent intensify and the movement caused the oil to spread, coating the base of his wings with a slight gloss.

Levi had never paid much attention to the intricacies of his own biology because he suppressed his dynamic and never planned on going off his tea or into heat. Therefore, Levi had never learned that his wings shared more than just looks and color with a butterfly’s wing. Male butterflies had modified wing scales called ‘scent scales’ on their forewing that release pheromones to attract females, and Levi shared a somewhat similar trait.

Levi didn’t have scales, but like every other omega, he had two extra scent glands nestled between the two overlapping wings. The glands served to hydrate the hard-to-reach area between them and prevent them from getting dry and chafed. The airflow served to spread the scent from his pheromone-heavy oils when he flew, allowing potential alpha suitors to scent him more easily and determine if they would be a good match.

Levi groaned and dropped his head down, writhing and twisting a bit, grinding down onto the rug as he panted. It was strange, a pleasurable feel that was almost too much, bordering on overstimulation but fuck if Levi didn’t like it. Eren gave a few more licks and then hummed, the vibrations traveling over his skin and through his wings, making him gasp.

“Your skin and wings are so soft and clean,” Eren rasped, and the compliment made him shudder in bliss. “You taste so good; fuck, it makes me just want to…” he trailed off as he dipped his head back down, growling in enjoyment.

“Fuck, Eren,” Levi groaned, claws digging into wood as he attempted to raise himself up, inadvertently pressing his slick-dampened ass up into Eren. The thick, hot length rubbed against him and the alpha sucked in a sharp breath before licking a bit more insistently over soft, sensitive skin while gently rocking his hips forwards in a tentative press.

A low croon built in Eren's chest as Eren's free hand slid up and over the soft membrane of Levi’s wing and strong shoulders to gently cup the junction where they met his neck. Eren's thumb brushed gently over Levi’s scent gland before pressing down slightly. The hand served to hold Levi down and in place, fingers wrapping around the side of his neck. Levi moaned, feeling himself go pliant under the lightly assertive hold.

The thumb pressing over his gland released more pheromone-heavy oils and the thick scent of his arousal suffused the air. Eren breathed in the strong pheromones deeply, sending a cloud hazing Eren's mind and making his alpha howl. His wings flapped sharply, helping to push his body forwards each time he moved his hips, flaring out in an unconscious signal for any nearby alphas to leave them be.

Levi was just so gorgeous underneath him, thick thighs spreading a bit more in an unconscious invitation, pert ass lifting up a bit each time Eren rocked against him in order to press back. His wings lifted a bit and waved, catching the light and rippling gently every time Levi moved, designed to catch an alpha’s attention and draw them in closer while he presented.

The sweet taste of the liquid he’d used on the inky wings mingled with the natural taste of Levi’s skin and oils, pheromones making his tongue tingle as he tasted that soft skin. Levi lifted his head a bit and let out a soft, breathy sound, making Eren look up momentarily. The charm on his horn dangled, waving with the movement and Eren had a sudden urge to lean forwards and clasp it in his sharp teeth, his alpha urging him to make the enchanting creature under him still and limp for Eren to do as he wished.

But Eren was not a slave to his instincts and so he resisted, though remembering the dazed, blissful look on Levi’s face afterwards made saliva pool in his mouth and his jaws ache. Pushing it aside, he dipped his head back down to run his tongue over the junction of where Levi’s wing met the skin, paying special attention to the sensitive scent gland just underneath the skin.

Eren pushed his hips especially hard against that firm ass a bit harder the next time he ground his hips forward, pressing his cock right over where Levi’s hole would be. He was delighted at the long shudder he got from the strong body pinned under him and did it again, closing his eyes and imagining that he was actually fucking the omega. It was an arousing thought and he bit his lip as pleasure arced through him.

A soft scratching alerted Eren to the fact that Levi was digging his unsheathed claws into the rug he was lying on. The mental image of Levi with his head thrown back, eyes closed and fingers clenching the rug flashed through his mind, making Eren snarl with a new possessiveness and rut his hips harder into the firm ass below him. His erection strained within the confines of his pants, sending a tingle of pleasure through him each time he ground down and Levi raised up to meet him. 

Eren's fingers dug a bit harder into the side of his neck, claws starting to unsheathe in his excitement. The sharp prick of pain against his skin and sensitive scent gland made Levi’s head jerk up, eyes going wide even as he bit his lip and struggled not to moan against the way Eren's dick rubbed between the cheeks of his ass with each slow grind. The alpha’s cock kept brushing just over his oversensitive hole and Levi felt himself start to get wet; the sensation fully brought him back to his senses and he froze in the middle of thrusting his ass back against Eren.

 _Fuck_ , they were basically dry-humping in his hollow and Farlan and Isabel were going to come back at any time.

“Wait, Eren,” he panted, trying feebly to flap his wings and make Eren lift his head from in between them. He wriggled a bit, but that just resulted in Eren flexing his fingers to make him go still, the strong grip making him gasp. “ _Stop_ , we need to-”

With a short snarl, Eren immediately pulled his head up and ceased what he was doing when he heard Levi say ‘stop.’ The response was deeply ingrained with him; it left Levi a bit shocked but also very, very pleased. Not many alphas would instantly stop when their instincts were urging them to continue and the tight control Eren had over himself and the respectful action made Levi’s omega croon in happiness.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Levi had to suppress a shiver at the blown pupils as he turned his head to look at the alpha. There was only a thing teal ring left around them and Eren's expression looked downright feral, hungry.

“What is it?” Eren growled in displeasure, before blinking a bit and shaking his head. He seemed to come back to himself a bit and his pupils shrank to something more normal. Immediately, his expression shifted to one of slight worry as he pulled back even more, raking his eyes over Levi in concern to make sure the omega was okay. “Fuck, I hurt you?”

“No,” Levi replied, a bit out of breath and still a bit dazed. “No, I’m fine,” Levi reassured him when Eren's scent spiked, tinted with the bitter taste of worry. Levi took another deep breath, breathing in through his mouth to avoid getting another noseful of Eren's dizzying scent. “Just, Izzy and Far are going to be back soon. I’d rather not be found humping like animals.”

_Even if it’s my goddamned right to hump like said animals in my own hollow._

Eren tilted his head, blinking, and then he looked down, silently processing the words before a shocked expression overtook his face. “Oh, fuck,” he groaned, realizing the compromising situation they were in, how he’d let his instincts take the reins. “Christ, Levi, I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t be,” Levi huffed, shaking his head. He sighed, mind still a bit of a mess and instinctively wanting to reassure the alpha, he wasn’t really thinking when he said, “It… it felt good. Just… we can pick up later, but right now…”

“You liked it?” Eren's grin was bright, almost cheeky and Levi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. Eren was going to be goddamned insufferable about this. Levi had a feeling that there would be no dealing with his mischievousness now. Fuck.

Eren was still looking at him expectantly and Levi huffed an exasperated breath. “By the Moon- _yes_ , I liked it,” Levi groaned in annoyance, unable to lie. “I’ll let you explore more later, when we have the time and privacy, but right now we need to make ourselves presentable.”

“Ah, right,” Eren said, clearing his throat. “Here, let me finish your wings and, I dunno, smack me if I start getting distracted, because… _fuck_ , you look so good. It might happen. I never could have imagined that a person could smell so mouthwatering, either.” Eren glanced down as he rambled, getting a glimpse of that still-raised, delectable ass and he groaned sharply. “Fuck, it’s definitely gonna happen, I need to get off you right _now_.”

Levi couldn’t help but be flattered by the stream of praises that flowed from Eren's mouth, his wings flaring a bit at the compliments. The silver took on a bright gleam as blood rushed through them with his rapidly increasing heartbeat, enhancing their color.

Eren's babbling was cute too, Levi thought, and he mourned the warm, solid weight of Eren on top of him as the alpha scrambled off of him almost desperately.

Eren took deep breaths in through his mouth as he rose and stood to the side, attempting to calm himself down. He was flushed and looked a bit wild; it was a good look and Levi felt arousal start to pool once more in the pit of his stomach.

 _Shit_. He needed to calm down as well before he just said “fuck it” and made Eren fuck him right there, Erwin be damned.

Taking a steadying breath, Levi raised himself up and pushed to his knees, keeping most of his weight on the uninjured right one. He braced his hands on his knees as he rose to his feet slowly, taking care not to make the pain in his leg worse.

Behind him, Eren let out a long, frustrated groan. Levi wiped off his knees and then glanced over his shoulder to look at Eren curiously. The alpha had his head in his palm. “What’s wrong?”

“God, you _can’t_ just – you can’t make me _feel_ like this and then bend over like that, _fuck_ ,” Eren hissed, cracking his fingers just enough to stare at Levi with a slitted eye in frustration.

Levi had to bite his lip to keep himself from laughing, but he knew he was in no better a condition. Heat still coursed through him, and he knew that it was partially because his body was preparing itself for a heat soon; very soon, if what his body was telling him was right.

The other part was that… Levi genuinely liked Eren, found him extremely attractive and had started to care for him deeply over the short time they had known each other.

It was part of the bond they shared as _asulae_ ; their bodies and to some extent, their souls, had recognized their perfect match. By that logic, there was no reason to _not_ have a quickly developing courtship, to bond as soon as possible. For _asulae_ , there would be no other acceptable suitor. Therefore, it made sense that their bodies would throw them both into a mating cycle to complete the bond as soon as possible.

More than that, though, Eren was a genuinely good person; kind, respectful and gentle, almost puppylike in his eagerness to learn more about Levi and their kind and make him happy, to please him. Part of it might be his newly-awakened instincts demanding it, but Levi also could tell that it was just the way Eren was. The alpha was the type to throw himself into things with his whole heart, genuinely cared about others and wanted Levi to be happy.

And Levi…

Levi _was_ happy. A bit apprehensive about facing the community after all the changes that had been thrown at them over the course of the night thus far, about sharing a life with someone when he’d never had the desire to bond before, but…

There was something about Eren that made a sense of contentment settle warmly into his chest, sparking emotions he had thought long-dead.

Eren would be good for him, Levi thought, biting his lip as Eren made a little twirling motion with his finger. Eren was already an excellent alpha; he would be an even better _asula_ when they were bonded. He would be able to tell what Levi was feeling and thinking. Levi only hoped that he could be good enough for Eren too, promised himself he would do his best.

Ever careful of his injured leg, he turned around and Eren took a few more deep, steadying breaths before he heard the bowl with the oil be picked up. A moment later, the soft cloth was smoothing over his wings once more and despite everything, Eren was just as methodical as he’d been before. He took care to make sure every bit of Levi’s wings were preened and ran his hands over them to make sure there was no excess oil that would drip or rub off.

They both were silent as Eren finished his wings and Levi felt _good_ , his omega content under the attention. Eren was attentive and did just a fantastic, if not better job than Levi could have done himself. His wings had never felt so good - he was sure that they looked it, too.

A hand suddenly resting against the base of one, thumb stroking over a bit of cloudy grey almost made him jump. Behind him, he heard Eren breathe, “Lovely.”

Levi’s eyes slipped closed at the praise.

He was just about to thank Eren when suddenly, there was a loud knock at the side of the entrance. It was calm and measured, which made Levi aware that it was Farlan and Isabel.

Sighing, Levi turned. Eren was gazing at his wings with an almost reverent expression and when he lifted his head, Levi’s heart stuttered at the adoring look on his face. “I thought they were beautiful before, but now...” Eren shook his head, a small smile on his face. “The oil works wonders.”

“There’s a reason we preen so often,” Levi said, struggling to find words that wouldn’t make him sound like an idiot.

The knock came again and Levi’s eyes narrowed. It was louder, more insistent.

“Fucking come _in_ ,” Levi said loudly, irritated at the intrusion. His omega was prickling, annoyed that someone would come into the hollow where his and Eren's scents intermingled, polluting it with new, unwelcome scents.

 _Fuck_. Levi was a goner.

Pushing his instincts down, he turned as the heavy cloth curtain was pushed to the side. Isabel stepped in, her neutral, familiar scent calming Levi and the slight rumble in Eren's chest died out.

Huh. He’d missed when Eren had started growling. Apparently the alpha didn’t approve of the intrusion, either.

After a moment Farlan stepped through as well. He hung back a bit, eying Eren and trying to assess his mood. Alphas, especially unbonded ones around the sprite they were courting could get rather moody and irritable; Eren was no different.

“Head Alpha has summoned us,” Isabel said, jerking her thumb at the exit. “A patrol caught your scent and Eren's and traced it back here, so we’re all being summoned since it’s unfamiliar.”

“Right,” Levi sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. Catching Eren's eye, he tilted his head towards the curtain. “It’s time. Remember what we discussed and it should be fine. Let me do most of the talking.”

Nervousness bubbled in Eren's gut but he tamped it down, willing himself into calmness lest his scent betray him. “Lead the way.”

Levi offered him what could count as a small smile; just a small twitch of his lips. Walking carefully over to the exit, he reached to push the curtain aside only to have Eren appear at his side and reach up to do it for him.

“After you,” the alpha said playfully, giving him a small bow.

“Moon, it’s like they’re already bonded,” he heard Isabel whisper to Farlan, and not wanting to see any of their smirks or Farlan’s insufferably smug nodding, Levi gave a noise of exasperation and stepped out. He squinted a bit; his curtains blocked most of the light from entering his hollow and so he hadn’t realized how bright it had gotten.

The first rays of daylight broke through the thick canopy the community was housed under and already, it was thrumming with activity.

“Wow,” Eren breathed, seeing the sprite’s community for the first time. Levi was used to the sight, but as he rarely saw it in daylight, it was like seeing it anew.

The trees were placed strategically close; branches grew long and thick, forming pathways from hollow to hollow. At the center of the community, branches twisted together thickly at various levels. Smoothed out slats of bark and driftwood gathered from the ocean were slotted over the branches, forming platforms. The central tree served as a gathering hub; already, the cooking hearth was lit and sprites were milling about, accepting food and flitting up to the dining level to eat breakfast. The forges were lit as well, the flames small and contained yet hot enough to work various metals.

Eren was in awe at seeing not only the elegantly-grown community, but also at the sprites flitting about. He suddenly understood what Levi said about not fitting in. The Sunlight sprites were vastly different looking from Levi and his two companions.

Taller and broader, their skin had a golden cast that was far warmer than the cool-toned, pale skin of the Moonglow sprites. Their wings were brightly colored in pastel hues. Bright sky blues, grassy greens and bright oranges and reds were the most common, but Eren could see the occasional sunny yellows and light lavender purples in the distance. Their wings glinted in the sunlight, lacking the subtle glimmer of Levi’s kind; instead, they possessed a reflective sheen that reflected the light almost like the prisms he remembered his mother having.

Their horns ranged in tone from a light golden to an almost fiery red and were longer than those of Moonglow sprites. Rather than being one thick, curving horn, they were thinner and split off so that they had between two to four branching prongs.

It was fascinating to see the differences and observe the way these sprites flitted around and interacted with each other, but Eren remembered he wasn’t supposed to be acting odd. They’d probably consider the wonderstruck staring strange, since he wasn’t supposed to be a former human but a Wanderer who grew up in a Moonglow commune.

…Well, maybe _that_ could explain the staring, because Eren didn’t think he’d be completely able to stop.

“Come on,” Levi said at his shoulder, limping forwards onto the branch that led out of his hollow. “Follow me and don’t fall behind. And for fuck’s sake, close your mouth and stop staring,” Levi hissed, not wanting to draw more attention than they absolutely had to.

Eren appeared to shake himself a bit and plastered a serious, aloof expression on his face, as if he’d seen a sprite community many times before. “Lead the way.”

Levi stared at him for a few more seconds, silently wondering if this was wise.

Was it too soon? Should they have stayed away for awhile for Eren to adjust and then come back?

It was too late to change courses now, however, because already a few heads had turned at seeing the reclusive, nocturnal trio out at the crack of dawn with a strange new sprite accompanying them. A few sprites had started flitting forwards, strange expressions on their face as they discreetly scented the air.

Levi had to bite back a curse. They’d no doubt already smelled him and were wondering at the sweet scent of unbonded omega.

“Go,” Levi hissed, spreading his wings and launching off the branch, swerving away from the community tree and deciding to take the longer way up to the community hollow where Erwin worked from and held meetings with other sprites.

He heard Eren behind him, his flight much quieter now that his wings were well taken care of. He flitted through the branches, not bothering to look back to see if Eren was following, sure that the alpha was keeping close. The daylight made it a bit hard to see, harsh on his night-attuned eyes. It was with relief that they dipped back into the thick covering of the community tree’s canopy, reveling in the shade.

The hollow Erwin spent his days working in was at the very top, a bit more sequestered to give him peace and quiet, along with the ability to overlook the community and watch their day-to-day activities. The branch leading out to it was thick and worn smooth from constant use and Levi dropped onto it carefully.

It didn’t shake with Eren's weight and he looked back to see Eren carefully, delicately hovering over it before gracefully dropping down, face furrowed in concentration.

As he stood, Levi gave him a short nod, silently approving of his more graceful landing. “Follow my lead,” he murmured, drawing back his wings.

Levi took a breath and stepped into the hollow, feeling a slight relief at no longer being exposed to the daylight.

Erwin Smith was a large sprite, tall and well-muscled from his time in the Scouts. He was missing his right arm, having been crushed beneath an owl’s talons when a few young sprites had been attacked and he’d led a group of Scouts out to save them.

His lack of a right arm didn’t detract from his commanding, attractive presence; he wore the disability like a badge of honor. His eyes were a clear sky blue, the same as his wings and they shone with good health. His horns were large and shone a bright gold, thick and branching out over his head much like a deer’s antlers. He wore the same harness and straps that the Scouts did as a testament to the time he’d spent in their ranks.

If Levi hadn’t been unable to think of him as anything more than a friend and somewhat paternal figure, he would have had no objections to becoming Erwin’s bondmate, Levi thought. His scent was strong, reminding Levi of fresh grass and newly-bound record books. It was a pleasant, clean scent, but not one that Levi found particularly alluring.

Levi gave a salute with Isabel and Farlan following. He heard a thump from his right a split second later and was pleased that Eren followed suit, though he didn’t know if it would be perfect. Eren was trying his best, though.

“Alpha Smith,” Levi murmured, inclining his head. “You wished to see us?”

Erwin’s sky-blue eyes flitted over them, lingering on Eren a second longer than most, taking in the new sprite and noting his oddities compared to those of the other races he knew of. Discreetly, he scented the air, wings flapping a bit at the strong scent of lavender and honey that Levi had recently acquired.

Usually the small, dark-haired sprite smelled of vaguely nothing or of his companions, so this was new and strange.

“Levi. Isabel and Farlan,” he said cordially, greeting them one at a time before his eyes were drawn once more to the tanned, tall youth at Levi’s side. “You have a guest.”

Keeping his salute, Levi simply nodded. “His name is Eren, Alpha Smith.”

Erwin nodded, addressing his next question to the both of them. “Is there a purpose for him to be here in Rose?”

Right as Levi was about to speak, Eren stepped forward and did so first. Levi had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from telling him to stay the fuck back, but as Eren spoke, Levi found himself pleasantly surprised.

“I am a former Wanderer, Alpha Smith. My initial intentions were to request haven in Rose in hopes that I might one day join the Sunlight commune. They remain my intentions only if my _asula_ wishes that as well.” Eren's voice was mannered and respectful, the words polite and formal without being to flowery or over-explaining. He’d remembered everything that they’d discussed and sounded exactly what someone of Eren’s made-up backstory would say.

Levi was wholly impressed and a small thrill ran through him at the alpha’s excellent performance. They’d had no need to worry; Eren had listened to everything they told him carefully and was settling into his role perfectly.

“Your _asula_ …” Erwin said quietly, eyebrows drawing together. His stare was overly keen as he examined Levi, tested the sweet scent in the air. Eren was an alpha, that much was obvious and since Farlan and Isabel were bondmates... “Is this why… Levi, you’re an omega?”

Levi winced. Erwin’s tone was neutral, though it held a slight hint of surprise. Erwin was a notoriously collected bastard and Levi had always found him difficult to read.

“I apologize for the deception, Alpha Smith,” Levi said, his voice bland and face a deadened, blank mask. He refused to give anything away under Erwin’s sharp, assessing gaze. “I had reasons for it, but considering recent events, I am unable to mask my dynamic any longer and wished to come clean.”

Erwin gave him a long, considering look before waving his hand and sighing. “Let’s drop the formalities, Levi. We have no audience and trying to sort through all of this with them is only going to give me a headache.” His wings gave a flap as he backed up to lean against the large desk in the center of the small hollow. His arm crossed over his stomach and he fixed them with a stern, piercing look. “Explain to me _exactly_ what happened.”

Levi sighed, shoulders relaxing. He gave a glance over his shoulder and made a small motion with his hand, encouraging Eren to relax and come forwards. “Which part do you want to hear first? Why I masked myself as a beta, or how we found Eren?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Erwin said, waving his hand to gesture for Levi to continue as Eren stepped up to stand next to him. “I’ll hear it all eventually.”

Levi dropped out of his salute, tilting his head as he considered his next words. Eren had heard some of this but not all of it, so he decided to just lay everything out for his _asula’s_ benefit, too.

“In the Maria commune, I was a member of the Scouts,” Levi started. “I had been, ever since I shed my fledgling status. Maria was a bit untraditional; no one blinked when I joined and I was slated to become Captain of the Scouts the night after the community was razed. When we came here seeking refuge, I already knew that because of my omega status and sudden decline of the Moonglow population, life would be restrictive and I had no desire to be coddled. There was no further reason besides that. I’ve never enjoyed the traditional roles we sprites thrust upon omegas and life as a beta would be much more freeing, even if I couldn’t use my magic except on our night flights away from the commune.”

Erwin’s eyebrows inched higher as Levi spoke before they furrowed a bit. “I… see,” he said, sounding a bit troubled. “My father’s views were a bit traditionalist, but Levi, no one would have made you do anything you didn’t want to.”

The alpha’s voice was gentle and understanding, but Levi bristled a bit. Words were cheap and at the end of the day, Erwin had to keep the community’s best interests at heart. A Head Alpha who let an endangered omega in the Scouts and therefore into danger would have been seen unfavorably.

“Would I have been allowed to serve once more in the Scouts?” Levi challenged, folding his arms. “Would I be a Squad Leader right now if I’d come here as my true status?”

Erwin’s lips thinned and Levi snorted. “I didn’t think so. I considered coming to you and telling the truth once you took over, since I know your views are more forward-thinking but…” Levi refused to admit he hadn’t been afraid of the repercussions, but the restrictions that would have been placed upon him.

“You were afraid that the truth would have gotten out and you’d be pressured to become my bondmate,” Erwin surmised, rubbing a hand over his face. “Levi, you know I-”

“I know _you_ wouldn’t have made me do shit,” Levi cut him off, waving his hand. “But the pressure from the community would have made us bend eventually. Besides, I would have been coddled and they would have never let me on any solo patrols or to engage in anything considered dangerous. It was best my secret was kept.” Levi looked to Eren, tilting his head a bit. “Considering that I can’t hide it anymore, I wanted to come and explain everything out of respect to you and our friendship.”

“I deeply appreciate that, Levi. Thank you,” Erwin said honestly. His posture became a bit less informal as he turned to the alpha standing quietly at Levi’s side, keeping a careful eye on the omega as he spoke.

It was almost as if he were looking from bodily cues from the omega, and that was _very_ interesting for a myriad of reasons. “Now Eren, I’d like to hear from you.”

Eren's scent flared just a bit and Erwin detected a bit of apprehension before it was reigned in. Interesting.

The alpha looked at him calmly, his bright teal eyes shuttered; Erwin wasn’t able to glean anything from them. His face was just as bland as Levi’s; a perfect match for the newly-revealed omega, Erwin thought.

“What do you wish to know, sir?” he asked politely.

“Just Erwin,” he said, waving off the formality. “If you would, please tell me where you came from and how an odd-looking sprite such as yourself came to find Levi.”

Eren's thick eyebrows rose when Erwin commented on his appearance but gave away nothing else. Not even his wings twitched.

“I don’t know much about where I came from,” Eren said, and oddly, to Erwin’s ears it sounded a bit rehearsed. “I was found alone as a fledgling by the Shiganshina commune and taken in by them. I felt out of place there and so as soon as I could, I left and decided to drift for awhile. I grew tired of wandering and people spoke of Rose highly, so I made my way here.”

 _People_.

Levi had to hold back a wince at the foreign word; sprites referred to other sprites as such, not ‘people.’ He met Erwin’s eyes, seeing the subtle rise of an eyebrow. Erwin turned back to Eren, his face one of careful interest. Levi’s fists clenched. Of course they hadn’t had time to discuss what human words Eren should avoid, but too many oddities and Erwin would notice.

He was keen like that.

“Please continue,” Erwin said, holding out his hand in a gesture to go on.

Levi saw Eren's quick glance at him out of the corner of his eye and Levi blinked slowly in what he hoped Eren would take as an encouragement. After a moment Eren continued. “I stumbled across Levi, Isabel and Farlan being attacked by an owl and I stepped in to help. His leg was injured during the fight. After the owl left and I went to see if he was alright, we discovered we were _asulae_. We bandaged his leg and after a short rest, made our way back here.”

Erwin was silent for a moment before asking, “And your glamour did not protect you from being seen?”

 _Shit, shit, shit. We forgot about the glamour_ , Levi thought, mind racing.

“When we saw Eren, Levi dispelled it so we could go talk to him, but right as he did it, the owl spotted us,” Farlan cut in and Levi could have sagged in relief at the smooth interjection. “Since Eren has not been part of a commune for a long time, he had no glamour himself. He wouldn’t have been able to see us.”

“I see,” Erwin said. He fell silent for a few moments, leaning back against his desk as his piercing eyes swept over the four sprites gathered before him. There was a certain tenseness lingering in the room that Erwin was not overly hasty to dispel.

Isabel and Farlan were two sprites he wasn’t close with, but he knew that they were basically family to Levi. The trio seemed to rarely be apart and it was blatantly obvious that they were wholeheartedly loyal and supportive to the short, dark-haired sprite.

They’d remained fairly quiet thus far, seeing as it was Levi who had the most to explain. However, as the silence lingered, their respective poppy and peppermint scents swelled a bit in nervousness. They remained warm, supporting Levi wordlessly as he explained the deception and discovery of Eren.

Eren.

Erwin assessed the sprite thoughtfully. He was quite an odd-looking sprite. The color of his wings were mostly a deep aqua, but whenever he moved and caught the light in a certain way, Erwin could see the darker, oceanic blues and emerald greens that made up the borders and patterns of them. They had a certain gloss that reminded Erwin of a fish scale, and the turquoise horns looked rather similar to a tapering dorsal fin.

There was just too much _different_ about him; he shared none of the common traits of the other races Erwin was familiar with. It was astonishing to think, but…

Erwin was practically positive that Eren had to be a Tidalwave sprite, one of the purportedly nomadic and smaller of the sprite races. It had been theorized that the Tidalwaves had journeyed further up the beach than the rest of the other sprite races, or had crossed the ocean to make a new home beyond the waves.

“Eren. Do you have any recollection of your parents? Any memories from before you were taken in by the Shiganshina Moonglow community?” Erwin asked suddenly, and he could practically taste the relief in the room as Erwin didn’t press their story too much. He was certain that there was something the four of them were leaving out, but Erwin was a bit more focused on the enigma that was Eren's appearance and what race he came from.

Eren shook his head slowly, looking regretful. “Unfortunately, I do not.”

“That’s… unfortunate,” Erwin said slowly, drawing out his next words to gauge both Eren and Levi’s reactions. “Considering how far the Shiganshina commune is from the ocean, I would be very interested to know why Tidalwave sprites were so far away from their natural habitat.”

Levi didn’t react at all, didn’t even blink, which made Erwin think he was definitely hiding something. Eren inhaled sharply, a little less skilled at masking his reactions.

“One of the Tidalwaves?” Eren said, tilting his head a bit. Levi’s eyes flicked over to Eren; subtly, the alpha glanced at him and the omega gave him a small shake of his head. It was a subtle exchange. If Erwin hadn’t been watching them so closely, he would have missed it. “From what I’ve learned, there’s been no sightings of them for awhile; it’s as if they’re extinct or traveled far away from this area.”

The phrasing sounded strange and Erwin narrowed his eyes, scent spiking a bit as suspicion flared. Some of Eren's oddness could be explained due to him being a _valus_ , but other things couldn’t be ignored. “You speak as if you only learned this fact recently.”

Eren quirked a brow, his wings spreading a bit at the way the scent of the other, older alpha suddenly grew heavier. “Well, no one in Shiganshina was ever rude enough to continuously comment on my odd features, and I didn’t meet too many sprites as a _valus._ ”

Eren's tone was measured and even, polite even as he delivered the rebuke veiled in politeness. Erwin blinked, realizing that his suspicion of Eren's background had made his words sharp and rather impolite. He relaxed back, internally wincing. While it was his job to vet new arrivals and ensure that they wouldn’t cause trouble for his community, the notion of Eren being a _valus_ had, it appeared, given him a bit of prejudice.

“You’re right,” Eren said, reining in his scent and inclining his head graciously. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something strange about Eren, but he had not shown any ill intent thus far. “Please forgive my rudeness, Eren. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Eren nodded and closed his wings behind his back, waving it off. The sprite seemed very level-headed, though his previous words had seemed to hold un underlying veil of anger.

While the alpha seemed to have excellent control over himself, Erwin could detect that he was a very emotional sprite; though perhaps it would be good for Levi. They would balance each other out.

History as a _valus_ and lack of knowledge about his origin aside…

Eren didn’t seem like a terrible sprite. He watched Levi closely, saw the way the omega flicked his wings just a bit so that the tip of one brushed over Eren's arm. The alpha immediately relaxed back at that. He didn’t know Levi quite as well as he would have liked to, but he knew the type of person the sprite was.

He discreetly sniffed the air, smelled the oil they used to preen and the faintest, linger traces of arousal and contentment coming from not only Eren, but Levi as well. Their scents intermingled and upon looking more closely, the scent glands on both of their necks looked a bit swollen, scents intermingling in a very telling way.

The confirmation of what he’d suspected satisfied Erwin and helped to calm his suspicions.

Levi had a very short list of sprites he liked. _Asula_ or not, Levi wasn’t the type to tolerate a sprite he didn’t like.

To put it frankly, he’d allowed Eren to scent mark him, marked him in return, preened Eren and allowed the alpha to return the favor and Levi smelled _happy_ about it. He’d been able to make Eren relax with just a simple brush of his wing and the alpha allowed Levi to be the one leading this mission rather than forcing Levi to stand off to the side and not speak.

The scents coming from the both of them bespoke nothing but content, happy omega and alpha. There was a trace of anxiety, but Erwin supposed it was because as Commander and Head Alpha, he had the power to not allow Eren into Rose, forcing both of them to find a new community to join. No one liked an interrogation, after all.

Erwin wouldn’t do that, though. Levi was a friend, and while he didn’t fully trust Eren yet, the omega seemed to and Levi was an excellent judge of character.

Decision made, Erwin rose to his full height and flapped his wings a few times to get their attention. The four of them all stood a bit straighter, listening for his verdict. 

“While I’m a bit disappointed at your deception,” he said, turning to Levi to address him first, “I can understand why you felt the need to hide, Levi. You have my respect for coming to me immediately with this and being honest.”

Levi inclined his head, knowing that Erwin would give him no more trouble over the matter. There wasn’t much Erwin _could_ do about it, anyway. To attempt to reprimand the omega of an _asulae-_ bonded pair would only insult the alpha, which was heavily frowned upon in their society.

Sprite culture was not overly formal, but it was founded on a basis of respect. To break one of their few unspoken rules or take an action that was seen as disrespectful or impolite would lead only to being shunned or, at the worst, ostracized. To do either of the aforementioned actions would only cause Erwin to lose favor with the Rose community. Also, he respected Levi too much to even attempt such a thing.

Then, Erwin turned his gaze to Eren. “And Eren. You seem to be trustworthy and an honorable alpha from what I’ve witnessed. You came seeking a haven, and Rose will accept you. As both Levi’s asula and as a sprite who could greatly benefit and enhance our community, I welcome you with open arms into Rose.”

Levi let out a small sigh of what seemed to be relief and his body seemed to relax just a bit. As Erwin spoke, a little ripple seemed to spread through the room and Erwin smiled gently.

“May you find happiness and peace within the sunlight of Rose.”

Erwin’s voice had gained an odd, reverberating timbre as he spoke. Levi closed his eyes as the magic washed over them, hearing Eren gasp slightly at the strange feeling. It tingled through him; as he was already a part of Rose, it felt mild but he could still remember the odd feeling of _otherness_ as Rose brought him into its arms.

The glamour of the community was recognizing Eren, accepting him as part of it and cloaking him in the same magic that wrapped around all those residing there. Erwin himself had no magic as an alpha, but as Commander, the community was tied to him and he to it through a complex ritual that had been performed when he stepped up.

In a way, Rose was alive, a sentient, living thing. While he could not renew the glamour or cast magic, he could choose who to make part of the community. Eren had been accepted, given all the benefits other sprites had as well. Being part of a community was not as simple as just living there; all were connected to Rose in a subtle way. They helped to take care of it and each other in exchange for the shelter and warmth Rose could provide.

In a gesture of friendship and acceptance, Erwin held out his palm to Eren. Confidently, the alpha stepped up and laid his hand over Erwin’s heart, allowing the other to do the same to him. He watched as Erwin started to incline his head and followed when Erwin tilted his head. He felt a bit anxious about touching a sprite’s horns when he thought about the incident with Levi, but when he’d performed this ritual with the omega, it had been alright.

With a deep breath, he let his horns rest against Erwin’s, glad that the front of his horns were smooth. Otherwise, he would have been worried that one of the Commander’s prongs would get caught in the dips of his own horns.

Eren almost gasped as he felt that same spark within his chest again. He recognized Erwin as a kindred spirit, though it felt different with Erwin. Erwin _was_ Rose; Eren could not only feel the other sprites of the community through the other alpha but could also sense Rose itself. He could feel every twisting branch and comforting hollow that made Rose a home.

It was an intense experience, but Eren waited until Erwin raised his head and stepped back to do the same.

“Welcome home, Eren,” Erwin said warmly, and Eren couldn’t help but beam. There was a feeling of rightness, of belonging that had overtaken him and it felt _good_. 

It was something he had been missing in England, though he hadn’t realized it until just this moment. He nodded at Erwin before stepping back and looking at Levi. There was a soft look in his eyes that made Eren's chest flutter and he watched as Erwin turned to hold out his palm to Levi as well.

The omega flapped his wings once and stepped forwards, lifting his own. In synchronization, they placed their hands on each other’s hearts and Erwin bent to touch his horns very carefully to Levi’s shorter ones.

Perhaps if Eren didn’t know what the gesture meant or hadn’t experienced it himself, his alpha might have been upset at another alpha so close to his _asula_. However, Eren now knew what it was like to feel something so platonically intimate with someone, especially one that his very soul recognized as kin, and he knew exactly what Levi felt when the omega inhaled sharply and let his eyes slip closed.

When Erwin stepped back, he was smiling gently at Levi, a warm fondness in his eyes. “I’m pleased you finally found your _asula_ , Levi,” Erwin said softly, his scent reeled in and exuding calming pheromones so as to not upset Eren or be mistaken as a challenge.

Something glimmering in his sky-blue eyes made a sudden realization dawn within Levi.

Ice poured down his back, making him freeze and sapping the warmth that he’d been feeling as a result of being momentarily connected to Rose. Eren seemed to feel the shift in Levi’s emotions because he stiffened, eyes narrowing as they locked onto Levi, gauging his mood.

“You knew,” Levi whispered, and suddenly, all eyes were upon him.

Erwin simply inclined his head, not bothering to deny it. “Yes.”

He’d kept it quiet, assuming that the omega had a personal reason to hide his status and refused to pry. He’d become even more reluctant to confront Levi about it after they’d become friends of sorts, not wanting to drive the reticent sprite away and ruin their newly-budding camaraderie.

Before Levi or anyone else could ask the next question, the _how?_ that lingered in everyone’s minds, Erwin spoke again.

“You forget that we commonly trade with and visit other communities.” Levi could have smacked himself for his stupidity. Sprites were social creates of a highest degree; Maria had been the largest Moonglow colony in the area. Of course the former Commander and his son would have visited at least once. “I saw you right after your presentation, when I traveled with my father to the Maria community. I marveled that an omega could become a Squad Leader of such a large community, but I have to admit, it changed my mindset towards the roles of dynamics.”

Erwin’s father had been rather traditional, and while he didn’t actively encourage alphas or omegas to stick to their defined roles, he didn’t exactly encourage it either. After seeing Levi’s impressive flying abilities and skill with the Scouts’ traditional paring blades, Erwin had been determined to make some changes in Rose.

Though, as long-lived as sprites were, it was hard to break old thinking patterns and Erwin had to make the changes slowly. “However, I wasn’t in any position to change the way this community worked until just a couple of months ago. When I saw you show up with different markings and a masked scent, I didn’t say anything. I knew that being forced into a traditional role would only make you unhappy, and it wasn’t my place to reveal you.”

Levi felt oddly touched at that before a slight clearing of a throat came and Erwin winced. “And ah,” he coughed, gesturing to the sprite who was leaning against the wall, watching the proceedings with a keen eye, “Mike could smell it, especially after you used magic.”

Levi’s eyes cut over to the tall, silent hulk of a man. He’d almost forgotten that the Section Leader was there; he rarely spoke and acted as a sort of assistant to Erwin. His lips twitched under scruffy whiskers and Mike smirked, tapping his nose as he inclined his head a bit.

Levi could have smacked himself once again. He should have known. Mike’s nose was notoriously sensitive and was one of the Scouts’ best trackers because of it. The big sprite was unnervingly quiet and rarely spoke; he blended into the background more often than not and this wasn’t the first time he’d completely overlooked Mike’s presence.

“I appreciate your friendship, Levi,” Erwin said, and Levi dragged his narrowed eyes back to the Commander. “I will always hold that _and_ you in the highest regard. Know that you will always have a safe place in Rose, though if my deception has upset you and you wish to leave, I completely understand. If that is what you choose, then I’ll make sure you have plenty of provisions for-”

“Shut the fuck up,” Levi snapped, narrowing his eyes as he held up a hand. At the sharp tone, Erwin, along with the rest of the room, immediately fell silent. He could sense their collective surprise at Levi talking to the Head Alpha in such a way. He eyed Erwin for a few long moments before his eyes softened a bit. “If anything, you showed remarkable compassion and restraint in keeping the truth of a dynamic. If you think I’m going anywhere, you’re wrong. We’re staying.”

A broad smile split Erwin’s face at that. “That is wonderful news, because I find myself in dire need of a trustworthy Captain for my Scouts.”

Eren let out a pleased sound, obviously remembering their earlier conversation on the tip back to Rose, but something was bothering Levi, creating an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. Levi bit his lip for a moment, considering the pros and cons before he shook his head, decision made.

“I’ll take you up on that, but if we’re being honest, then you need to know something.” Levi met Isabel and Farlan’s eyes for a moment, silently conveying what he was going to do. Farlan shook his head desperately, but something tugged within Levi, didn’t feel right.

Erwin had been honest. In light of that, lying about Eren didn’t sit well with him. And there was an unsettling thought that he hadn’t been able to shake ever since he had first met Eren.

Eren had been a kind, decent human, but what if the others _weren’t_?

Their glamour could keep them hidden from the humans, make them see nothing but insects just as Eren had before Levi had dispelled it. However, all it took was one slip and they would be discovered, not to mention the threat of being exterminated as pests; he still remembered the strength he’d been flung with when Eren had accidentally sent him hurtling into the tree.

Even if they were all like Eren, humans presented an as yet indeterminate threat. Levi wanted Erwin to know what was looming in the horizon, especially if Erwin was truly vetting him as the new Captain of Rose’s Scouts.

Erwin inclined his head to show he was listening and Levi took a deep breath. “I apologize for the dishonesty, but Eren isn’t a _valus_. He’s – _was_ \- a human, and there are more of them nearby. I don’t know how it happened, but he turned into one of us, a sprite. That’s how I discovered he was my _asula_.”

Behind him, he could hear Farlan mutter something _so much for thinking of a backstory, Levi_ but Levi ignored it.

As he spoke, Erwin’s impressive eyebrows started to raise, then furrowed as Levi finished speaking. “I’m not sure what a ‘human’ is, but… such a transformation… It shouldn’t be possible. It’s old magic, something from myth.”

Levi froze at that, something Erwin missed because he was trying to remember where he had heard about it.

But then, something tickled at the back of Erwin’s mind and he remembered something from one of his father’s old, long-forgotten books. He’d read it as a child and after his father died, it had been burned along with the body as demanded by their funeral rites. He remembered only bits and pieces of it, but it was coming back to him.

“Levi. How exactly did Eren turn into one of us?” Erwin said slowly, eyebrows furrowing as he grasped at the fleeting memories.

“He was being attacked,” Levi said cautiously. He didn’t like the look on Erwin’s face, like he was piecing together pieces of an old puzzle that was better left forgotten. “I… he’d been kind to me and tried to protect me when the jaguar appeared and started stalking towards him. I didn’t know how I would do it, but when I called upon my magic, my only thought was to protect him somehow. It felt strange, but I didn’t think about it at the time. When the magic faded, we found Eren like this.”

“We don’t know much about the Startouched, but a record book my father used to possess had detailed records on all the races of sprites and their Touched,” Erwin said, eyes narrowing as the memory sparked and pieces started falling into place. He looked up, meeting wide grey eyes. “Including Moonglow sprites.”

Levi’s eyebrows had started inching up and then furrowed as Erwin finished. There was a strange look on his face, an expression of oddly muted anger and strangely enough, apprehension.

Like he didn’t want Erwin to press any further.

“Erwin,” Levi said, and the word held both a warning and a plea, like he wanted the alpha to stop talking or go down a different path. But Erwin knew the truth now; he just had to confirm it. “What are you saying?”

“I think it should be obvious. Your wings could be written off as a unique omega coloring, but it’s more than that. The Startouched call upon the power of the stars to make their illusions stronger and warp reality in certain ways.” Erwin said, noting the way Levi’s fists clenched. He heard a sharp inhale from Isabel and by her and Farlan’s face, they were starting to see the pieces fall into place. “I’d say transformation from an entirely different species into another counts under changing reality.”

Levi’s face had an odd expression, like all he wanted was to strangle Erwin while at the same turn on his heel and flee.

And Levi was certainly torn between the two desires, unsure of which he wanted to do more. Actually, no, he just really, really wanted to leave, but if he did so now, he’d lose the community, his friends, his home.

Levi glared at Erwin, stance stiff and wings trembling in muted anger.

Of all the things… he hadn’t expected Erwin to be able to put the pieces together. Though, if it hadn’t been for the book he spoke of, then it probably wouldn’t have happened. Levi himself had been hoping to write it off as a strange turn of fate, but then again…

That was exactly what had happened.

“Levi’s a Startouched?” Isabel whispered, her tone disbelieving. Erwin held Levi’s wide silver stare steadily, Levi’s reaction confirming his belief. The wings Levi held elegantly above him, spread slightly in an unconscious desire to flee, had lost some of their misty grey since Erwin had last seen them, looking less like a cloudy night and more like a starlit sky.

_Some say the stars that fall through the night sky are caught by the wings of those touched by the stars, living on in the bodies of those attuned to their icy light._

It was a line that had stayed with Erwin since he’d read the book, moved by the imagery and now it seemed wholly appropriate. He could appreciate the words even more as he gazed upon inky-black wings.

“No,” Levi whispered, stepping back a bit. His fists clenched, and his arms shook as he felt anger suffusing him. “It’s not possible. It only…”

They’d taken _precautions_. They’d been _ready_ for this situation. They’d made it so…

He hadn’t even _thought_ about this in so long, and now it was all being dragged out and laid before him once again.

“The book also mentioned a certain Moonglow family that were known to be Startouched in times long ago, but it was theorized that the ability had died out or gone dormant.” Erwin pushed off the desk and stepped closer, though he came to a halt when Eren snarled at him, silently daring him with his eyes to come any closer to the omega shaking in subdued anger. “When you first came seeking refuge, I thought the name sounded familiar and it struck me just a bit ago; after all, you _are_ an Ackerman, aren’t you, Levi?”

“Levi?” Farlan’s voice was questioning and expectant. He’d never known Levi’s family name; it had never come up in all the time they’d known each other. Family names weren’t of great import, and were used for recognition purposes among communities more than anything. They’d known Levi for almost their entire lives, would recognize him anywhere. But apparently his family name carried a certain meaning, a significance that they hadn’t known of before.

Levi’s head bowed, and he hissed out a breath at the expectant gazes upon him, waiting for confirmation. “Fuck… it shouldn’t be _possible_. She made sure…”

“Why don’t you tell us the truth, Levi?” Erwin gently encouraged. Mike bristled at Eren's continued posturing but Erwin held up a hand slightly to signal him to stand down, eyes never looking away from narrowed, bleached grey ones. “It’s only us here. It will never leave the walls of this hollow, if that’s what you choose. But your companions and _asula_ deserve to know the truth.”

“And what makes you think _you_ have the _right_ to know?!” Levi hissed, a low snarl punctuating the question. In response to the anger emanating from his omega, Eren instinctively stepped up to him, wings flaring up and out in a threatening display. He flapped them a few times, bright teal eyes narrowed at Erwin, shifting closer to the omega and trying to get Levi behind him.

“I don’t,” Erwin said calmly, backing off as a low, rattling hiss started in Eren's throat. It was a wordless challenge, a dare to come closer, to continue provoking his omega. Erwin had no desire to rise to it. Stepping carefully backwards to his desk made the hiss die down a bit, but by the way Eren's claws remained unsheathed and fingers continuously flexed, he was still very much on edge.

If he hadn’t been so focused on trying to comfort Levi and draw out the truth, Erwin would have taken a second to approve of the sight. Eren obviously had keen protective instincts, something that he knew would keep Levi safe.

“I don’t believe I have any right to it. I won’t deny I’m curious, and if you wish me to leave I will. But I want you to trust me, Levi,” Erwin entreated, genuine as possible, “as both the leader of this community and as your friend.”

Pale grey eyes searched Erwin’s face as if looking for any sign of deception. He was still shaking in silent fury, outraged that Erwin thought it appropriate to dredge up all of this utter bullshit in front of his friends. How _fucking dare_ -

He became aware of Eren's rattling hiss and with a jolt, realized that he and Eren were feeding off of and spurring each other’s anger in an endless feedback loop. _Asulae_ were particularly attuned to one each other and while helpful, it also had his drawbacks – as Levi was experiencing right now.

He’d upset Eren when his anger spiked, and now Levi was being influenced by his _asula’s_ rage.

Levi was angry at the situation, but the blind rage at Erwin was uncalled for.

Taking a deep breath, Levi called upon his connection to the Earth element for its soothing properties, letting it calm his thrumming heart. His rage dissipated, leaving behind only a faint trace of anger and the apprehension that he knew was fueling his spiking emotions.

The use of his magic sent his scent infusing into the room. It lacked the harsh, burnt-lavender notes and the normal, neutral smell of it helped bring Eren back from tipping over the edge and into full bloodlust. As Levi calmed, the anger seeped out of the feedback loop and the calmness from Levi and his magic settled over Eren.

He could tell from the unsheathed claws and flared wings that Eren was still edgy, his alpha instincts on alert. However, Eren wasn’t on the verge of attacking Erwin anymore, which was a good sign. Levi took a deep breath, continuing to calm himself down.

After a few moments, Levi could sense Eren's scent turning from a churning, brewing hurricane to something a bit quieter and he opened his eyes, feeling a bit more level-headed.

Calmer now, he searched Erwin’s face for any sign of guile and found nothing other than sincerity. Upon that realization, a weight seemed to dissipate from Levi’s body and it sagged a bit.

There was no way around it.

Erwin wouldn’t push him, but Farlan and Isabel deserved the truth. _Eren_ deserved to know the truth the most out of them all, however; Levi would have to come clean.

Mike could go fuck himself, but he knew that the bigger man wasn’t going to leave Erwin alone with an upset omega and his furious alpha that looked a few moments away from ripping Erwin’s face off.

Maybe Eren could just smack that stupid, scruffy mustache off the huge tree’s face instead.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Levi whispered, trying to collect his scattered thoughts as he dropped his head into his hand. “I never thought…”

He trailed off and the room fell silent, tense, waiting for him to speak. Levi licked his lips, mind racing as he thought about how to best explain.

“The omegas of the Ackerman clan are some of the only Moonglow that can become Startouched,” Levi eventually said, his quiet, icy voice slicing through the silence that had fallen over the hollow. “Any omega with Ackerman blood can have this ability, but it rarely manifests unless the sprite is a pure-blooded member of our family. And…” Levi’s voice fell even softer, “only the females of our family can become Startouched.”

“But Levi,” Eren blurted, “you’re not- I felt-”

Immediately, the solemness of the room was cracked and shattered. All heads and eyes whipped over to him and Eren felt his cheeks heat at what he’d blurted out unwittingly. He could practically _taste_ Levi’s anger and with a sense of dread, knew that he’d _majorly_ fucked up.

Eren faintly wondered if Levi would be sentimental enough to use his skin as a rug in their hollow after he’d flayed it from Eren’s body.

“What you _felt_ wasn’t an illusion,” Levi hissed, wings flapping in displeasure, sending a strong air current through the room. Eren cowered back as the sour scent of irritated omega reached his nose. Even his alpha was shrinking back as the acrid, heavy smell of burning lavender saturated the room in the wake of the omega’s displeasure. “It was real. My _dick_ is real.”

Turning away, Levi took a deep breath and addressed Erwin. He ignored his embarrassed and cowed alpha as he fought back the warmth that threatened to suffuse his cheeks, tamping down his anger.

The blonde alpha had an amused expression on his face, but upon seeing the dark expression on the omega’s face, he quickly wiped it off and replaced it with one of neutral interest.

Smart man.

“Once in our lives, we can use our attunement to the stars to warp reality and bend it to our will, but it always comes with a price,” Levi said, anger draining and eyes going dull, voice dead as he divulged the secret he’d been carrying his entire life. “My mother used her wish to change my body when she saw I was born female and ensure my success, in hopes that in doing so, I would lose the ability to be Startouched. She…” Levi’s voice broke slightly and he shook his head.

He cleared his throat, forcing himself to continue, dredging up old memories he’d tried repress and forget.

“We… thought it worked. I felt no attunement to the stars, but apparently, it just laid dormant. When I met Eren, when I felt the all-encompassing desire to save him, I felt that connection spark to life,” Levi said quietly, closing his eyes at the memory, remembering the sinking feeling he’d gotten as that long-forgotten link to the stars return to life. “I didn’t want to believe it and tried to brush it off as, shit, I don’t know, _anything_ , but I can’t deny it anymore.”

“Why is it so undesirable to be Startouched?” Erwin asked gently. As far as he knew, to be Touched was a great gift. It gave a sprite a great power, to enact miracles and use it to help others for the betterment of all.

Levi scoffed, already able to tell what Erwin was thinking.

“Suffice to say, the gifts that it comes with are a heavy burden to bear. A lifespan that is extended far past normal, prophetic dreams, and the ability to make our illusions become reality, among some, though there are more. And the one time we can change fate….” Levi sighed heavily, the next words feeling heavy and bitter on his tongue. “When we use our wish, we gain a karma; a debt that must be paid to balance the change we inflict upon the world. My mother’s karma took not only her life, but demanded others in return for such a fate-altering demand. I realized that when our community was razed to the ground the morning after her wish was fulfilled.”

Erwin’s eyes widened, the pieces clicking together. Levi’s success…

“The morning after you were appointed Captain of Maria’s Scouts,” he said, heart sinking when Levi nodded. “It was the success she had wished for you.”

“Yes. She’d made a large demand and paid for it with not only her life, but our community’s as well.” Levi’s shoulders sagged, eyes going dead as he stared blankly at the wall, fists clenched. “So many gone because of me…”

It had obviously been a weight that Levi had carried for a long time, if the bitter tone of his voice was anything to go by.

“Your wish, then…” Erwin asked, almost hesitantly. Did Levi still have a karma to be fulfilled? Would something terrible happen to his friend or to this community because of that?

“My wish was simply to protect Eren,” Levi said, sensing Erwin’s unvoiced concerns. He couldn’t blame the Commander; he’d just told them the wish his mother made had caused the deaths of an entire community. Levi would be worried as well. “I made no stipulations, so the wish took form in a way that ensured my karma would be carried out immediately, in the least damaging way possible. The stars aren’t vindictive, they don’t seek to punish us,” he sighed, though he wasn’t quite sure if he believed it. “They just seek to strike a balance.”

Levi remained silent for a second, chewing his lip before he forced himself to continue. He refused to look at Eren, knowing that the words wouldn’t be what the alpha wanted to hear, but they had to be said. “To keep Eren safe, to save him, I lost that which I valued most: freedom and the ability for my dynamic to remain hidden. I’ll never be able to hide that an omega, and I’ll always be inescapably tied to Eren.”

The words chilled Eren to the core, and his throat caught as he stared at the back of Levi’s head. Levi didn’t want this? Was this still how he felt, or had something changed after they got to know each other? Did Levi still resent him?

Inside of him, his alpha howled in displeasure at the perceived rejection, thrashing inside of his chest.

With a low, shuddering sigh, Levi’s head bowed, his fists unclenching to hang limply by his side. He looked small, almost defeated. Eren felt frozen, a desire to reach out and console him dampened by a cool anger at the hurtful words.

But then, Levi spoke and Eren's throat closed up in relief.

“I don’t regret it,” Levi murmured, voice gaining strength as he spoke. He glanced at Eren; there was a warmth in those grey eyes that soothed Eren's hurt, made his chest ache less. “I… it was freeing, in a way, once I realized what it meant. Hiding my dynamic was becoming tiresome, and Eren had shown me nothing but kindness. I’d already felt a connection to him while he was human. Part of me wonders if he was always my _asula_ , and by changing him, we were able to find each other in such a way.”

“So...” Isabel said slowly, “Eren is Levi’s _asula_ because Levi turned him into one of us?”

It was the first time she had spoken since they entered the hollow and Eren could see the slight flinch Levi gave at the utter confusion and slight hurt in her voice. She looked stunned, along with Farlan, but Eren didn’t think it could compare to the shock he was feeling. It was so much to take in, such a heavy thing to learn about his _asula_ so soon after meeting him. Eren understood why Isabel felt the way she did.

She was obviously wondering why Levi didn’t tell them, having known the two sprites for so long, but Eren could empathize with Levi. It was a secret that came along with painful memories and a heavy burden as well.

If Levi wanted to forget it, then of course he wouldn’t bring it up. He’d probably shoved it into a box and banished it to the darkest corner of his mind, only for it to be dredged up in the worst and most revealing way possible.

“More like… Levi was able to transform him _because_ they are _asulae_ ,” Erwin said slowly, his eyes assessing the odd-looking sprite. “I think the wish could have manifested in any way, but you said it does so in the manner that would be least damaging. Not all of us have an _asula_ and now I wonder if it’s because they are a different species or simply too far away for us to find. The world is very vast, after all.”

“Indeed,” Levi murmured. He took a deep breath, raising a hand to press the palm to his forehead. “I just wonder… I paid such a low price for such a fate-altering desire. I can feel that my karma was satisfied. I know that the balance is even, but I can’t help but worry there is a further debt I’ll have to pay.”

“There’s no way of telling that and therefore, it isn’t worth worrying about,” Eren suddenly said, emotion brimming within his chest. He couldn’t suppress the desire to comfort his omega anymore, and tired grey eyes flitted over to look at him. The circles under his eyes were dark and Levi looked utterly drained.

Eren's alpha wanted nothing more than to wrap him up in his wings and take him far away, tuck Levi back into their hollow and keep him safe, croon to him and shield him from the world. His fingers flexed with that desire, a warm, protective scent filling the room.

Levi’s eyes widened briefly before they returned to their natural heavy-lidded state. There was a glimmer of gratitude within their clear grey depths and his lips twitched upwards in the hint of a smile before he returned his attention to Erwin.

“Thank you for telling us, Levi,” Erwin said gravely. “I swear that this will not leave the hollow.”

“Maybe you should have checked for eavesdroppers before dropping this rock on everyone,” a new voice said from the entrance.

Levi stiffened, eyes flashing wide and tiredness draining from him as every instinct screamed _intruder_ at him. Panic spiked through him and at his side, he heard an angry growl and then a sudden surge in Eren's scent as the smell of a roiling ocean storm filled the hollow.

“Hanji,” Erwin sighed, greeting the newcomer.

Fuck. Instantly, his panic abated, but displeasure churned in his gut. Hanji was the absolute last sprite he wanted to deal with at the moment.

“Don’t worry, it was just me out there,” a boisterous voice said. “When I overheard what you were talking about – and without posting someone to keep others away no less! – I took up the duty myself.”

A familiar figure strode into the hollow. Hanji had rich, earthy brown hair and long, branching tree-like horns that had ivy twining around them, moss swaying from them and cascading down her shoulders. She easily sidestepped the bristling, angry alpha looming next to Levi and continued in as if oblivious to the tension within the room.

“So, our surly little beta is actually an omega – and a Startouched, no less,” she said, stopping and casting a bright smile around the room as she put her hands on her hips. “This day is certainly more interesting than I thought it would be when I woke up!”

Hanji stepped forwards, eyeing the posturing, hissing alpha with threateningly flared wings warily, deciding wisely to not come any closer. “And a former _hoo-man_ too, whatever those are. Say, what type of sprite are you?” Hanji said, leaning in a bit towards Eren only be rewarded by the alpha’s upper lip curling over his teeth in an angry snarl.

 _Good boy_ , Levi thought right before Hanji’s overpowering smell reached his keen nose.

“God, you reek of mud and plants,” Levi hissed, wrinkling his nose and leaning away.

“ _Levi_ ,” Eren rumbled, his guard up and wings flared. His instincts were all over the place, distressed at how mercurial Levi’s emotions had been. Eren felt about ready to either tear his hair out in frustration or rip someone’s heart out in anger.

Eren's wings gave a strong flap in warning, ruffling Levi’s hair and a strong, tanned arm reached out to him instinctively. He’d identified the source of the omega’s most recent distress and his alpha’s protective instincts were going haywire; he’d never felt such a strong spike of panic in Levi before. His scent was protective – a response to Levi’s distress and mentally cursing a bit, Levi forced himself into calmness, regulating his breathing.

“It’s alright,” Levi reassured Eren, turning to face the alpha. Eren's eyes were edging into alpha-gold, a sure sign that he was starting to be overwhelmed by his instincts.

A small croon started in Levi’s throat and he reached up to lay a hand on Eren's chest, right over his heart. It was beating rapidly, practically thrumming like a hummingbird’s wings and Levi called upon his Earth magic.

Instantly, the scent of warm lavender suffused the room and he channeled calming pulses of magic directly into Eren, infusing him with a soothing calmness. Remembering the discovery about his wings, Levi slowly waved them, allowing the air current to carry some of the scent from his oil-slicked glands to waft into the room and reach Eren's nose.

The gold encroaching into Eren's eyes gradually started receding and Levi felt relief when Eren's heartbeat slowed. It returned to something resembling normal and Eren's frantic breathing slowed, wings slowly closing back behind him.

“Hanji’s safe. She’s a friend, even if she’s _absolutely fucking filthy_ at the moment.”

Levi said the words like they were a personal affront, though to him, they truly were. He focused on letting out soothing pheromones, his omega’s silent way of saying _I’m here, I’m alright, there’s no need to worry._

Hanji only waved the hissed words off casually. “I was up early to forage for herbs by the river and when I got a whiff of your scent, I was curious and followed it up here. No time for a bath. Good thing I did, too, because there’s been a whole slew of people up to see Erwin about the new omega scent and the alpha they saw with our little nocturnal trio.”

Erwin groaned at the thought of the barrage of questions he’d have to answer today and when he shot an accusatory look at Levi, the omega just smirked. Deeming Eren calm enough, he pulled his hand away, discarding the lingering glow with a flick of his fingers.

Eren blinked and sighed, looking more like himself and less like a feral beast. He let out a low rumble as a wordless thanks and reached out instinctively to rub his wrist over Levi’s neck, humming when the omega immediately bared his neck and let Eren rub his scent over the gland. The small gesture was used to convey affection between couples, a reaffirming of their bond by re-mixing their scents.

Erwin watched the entire exchange with keen eyes. It was a side of Levi he’d never seen before, but the way his friend was able to calm Eren down so swiftly and with such ease set his mind at rest. It spoke volumes of their trust, and when Levi tilted his head to the side without a fuss to let Eren scent mark him in a display of affection, his fears were permanently put to rest.

For only meeting each other the previous night, their bond was already incredibly strong. Not only were Eren's protective instincts through the roof regarding Levi, but he was also able to be calmed instantly just with a little magic and the scent of his omega. Erwin had only seen a few _asulae_ bonds, but that had ever only been in passing. To see them interact like this was both awe-inspiring and fascinating.

Assured that Eren was calm, Levi turned back to Erwin and folded his arms, lips twitching in amusement. “Look at it this way; you have a new Captain of your Scouts and someone to put in charge of the glamour’s upkeep.”

“I still place the blame of this impending headache of a day solely on your wings,” Erwin muttered, remembering what Hanji had said and rubbing his temples.

“Noted,” Levi smirked before his face fell into an expression of distaste and he went to whirl on Hanji. “And before you do anything else- _ungh_ ,” he started, but was cut off with a pained grunt when his hurt leg buckled a bit.

Eren immediately caught him, wrapping an arm around Levi’s shoulders and steadying him so that he wouldn’t fall and injure his leg further.

The muddy sprite just grinned, watching the interaction in amusement. To think that her surly little friend had found an alpha, one that he seemed to have such a strong bond with as well. How very fascinating. 

“Yeah, I know, bath hollow,” she said, waving it off and ignoring Levi’s narrowed eyes. “You’ll be glad I went foraging, though, because I’m sorely lacking in medicinal herbs and balms and I can’t treat your leg without them.”

“You’re hurt, Levi,” Erwin said, eyebrows drawing together as Levi’s injury became the sole focus of his concern. Levi had hidden it well, but he still felt bad about forcing his friend to stand for as long as he had. “Go with Hanji and have her take a look at it. I want to see you again after that to discuss you new position in the community – you as well, Eren,” he said, nodding at the other alpha. “I want to hear about these humans and talk to you a bit more as well.”

Levi just shook his head, feeling exhaustion tugging at his body. It had been a tumultuous day, and in the wake of his wild emotions, he really just wanted to sleep and get out of the light. “It’s probably just a sprain. It’s been a long night and I think you forgot that we don’t function well in the daylight. I’m going to rest and get out of the light for awhile. We can pick up after the light lessens a bit.”

“You’re right; it’s inconsiderate to keep you here when you’re exhausted. Go rest,” Erwin ordered, flicking his wings dismissively. The rest of the sprites went to file out, but right before Levi limped out, Erwin turned back around and called out to him. “Wait, Levi, are humans anything like us?”

Levi stopped and looked over his shoulder. “No. Eren was shocked by the changes; they don’t possess dynamics or our… attributes,” Levi said, unsheathing his claws and holding a hand up to demonstrate what he meant.

Erwin’s eyebrows furrowed. So far, Eren seemed to be remarkably in control of himself, minus when his omega had been in extreme distress, but he wasn’t sure what all Levi and his friends had filled him in on.

“After you rest, send him to Hanji,” Erwin told him. As their resident healer, she was usually the one who handled explaining things to sprites after their presentation. “I’d daresay she’s better than you at explaining the things he needs to know right now.”

Levi’s eyebrows raised; he’d never considered that. It was somewhat of a relief to unload that duty off on someone else, however. He internally winced at the thought of having to explain things such as heats and slick and knots to Eren.

…Yeah, Hanji could handle that. No way Levi was touching that with a 5-winglength pole.

“Got it. I’ll have him find her and then seek her out myself,” Levi said, giving a quick salute before his eyes flicked outside of the hollow and then back to Erwin, smirking. “Good luck with the community, _Commander_.”

Erwin muttered something that Levi could have sworn was a _fuck you_ , and despite himself, a sly smile curled the side of his lip up. Hearing Erwin curse was both an oddity and a blessing; the man was hard to ruffle, but it was always amusing when he managed to do so.

The four sprites were waiting for him when he stepped out.

“Isabel, Farlan, go rest up,” Levi ordered, his voice ringing with that old authority once more. It came to him naturally, and Idly he wondered if it would be that hard to slip into the role of captain. “Thank you for being there.”

“Of course. You know where to find us,” Farlan said before he straightened up and frowned, locking eyes with Levi. “We’ll need to talk more about this,” he said more quietly, hurt swimming in his pale blue eyes and Levi winced.

“Of course,” he said just as quietly. “Once everything is settled, I’ll tell you everything. You both deserve that much.”

“Good,” Farlan nodded. He stretched out a wing to brush it against Levi before he paused and looked at Eren, whose eyes were narrowed as if daring Farlan to touch the omega. Deciding not to push Eren anymore today, he settled for placing a hand on Isabel’s shoulder and gesturing that they should leave.

“Come get us if you need anything! Don’t be a stranger!” Isabel called as Farlan took off, following swiftly after the blonde.

Levi watched them leave before he turned to Hanji. “You-” he started flatly, but Hanji waved him off.

“Bath, I know, don’t get your wings in a twist,” the Earthshatter sprite said flippantly. “It’ll take me some time to restock my supplies, but I should be finished by the time you wake up.”

“Fine,” Levi bit out, a wave of fatigue crashing over him. He was tired, emotionally drained, and his leg hurt like a bitch. He didn’t have any more energy to spend on niceties. He knew Hanji would understand. “Come on, Eren.”

With that dismissal, Levi took off, spiraling back down the branches. The sun’s rays were getting stronger and they prickled at his skin and made his eyes ache. Exhaustion pounded through his body; usually he slept very little and spend most of his time within his hollow or in the shade of the forest if he found that sleep eluded him, but Levi knew he’d have no trouble falling asleep today.

His wings felt heavy and it was with relief that they neared his hollow. Not bothering to land on the branch, he called upon his sky magic to blow his curtain aside with a breeze and tucked his wings to slide through the entrance dropping to the ground on his right leg.

A sigh escaped him as the darkness of his hollow provided his skin and eyes relief. He heard Eren land outside and slip through the entrance. Levi didn’t bother looking back as he limped over to the basin and its bedding of feathers and fluffy plant material, lowering himself into it without hesitation.

Fuck, his boots.

With a grunt, he pushed himself up but Eren was already there kneeling at the edge of the basin. “Here, let me,” Eren said softly, reaching for his feet. “You look exhausted. You wobbled a bit in the air and I was worried before I realized it was just fatigue.”

“Thanks,” Levi sighed, lying back. The feathers were soft against his skin and the fluff cushioned his body nicely. A slight headache started to throb at his temples and he slid his eyes shut while Eren carefully worked his boots off before leaving to place them at the door.

Afterwards, he hesitated and Levi cracked an eye to see him staring around with a bit of a lost expression on his face.

“Eren,” he called, craving Eren's presence next to him. “Come and lie down; you look tired as well.”

Eren fidgeted, eyes flashing between the bed scooped into the floor and Levi. Eren's alpha whined, unsure if he was allowed in the nest. He didn’t want to disturb the sleepy omega and upset him. “Is that okay?”

Levi stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “Why the fuck wouldn’t it be?”

“I just…” Eren fidgeted, not sure how he could explain how he was feeling. Eventually he settled on saying, “I’m not sure if there’s any sort of protocol for us being alone and also… this is your home. I don’t know if-”

“Shut up and come lie down with me,” Levi snorted, scooting over a bit and nestling down into the bedding. “We have some courting rituals, but considering we’re asulae, a lot of them don’t apply,” he said, attempting to reassure the alpha before his face softened. “Besides, this is your home now, too.”

Eren paused but after a moment, removed his boots as well and padded over. Tentatively, he slid into the basin, a shocked little sound escaping him as he felt feathers and fluff against his skin before he sunk into it with a low groan. “This is amazing. We don’t have anything like this.”

Levi gave a low hum, already feeling the pull of sleep at his eyelids.

But something felt off.

With a start, he realized it was because Eren was keeping a distance between them. Levi could practically taste the tension pouring off the alpha and he huffed. His omega was still somewhat distressed and he was craving the soothing contact of his alpha. Plus, he remembered that Eren's wings were almost stupidly soft, and he wanted to feel them wrapped around him.

Omegas were weak for soft things, and Levi was no exception.

“Just come over here, Eren. I don’t bite. You’re not going to do anything wrong.”

Eren was silent for a moment before he spoke. “I don’t know, your teeth seem awfully sharp,” the alpha said teasingly, even as bedding shifted and Eren shuffled close. The alpha slotted his large body in behind Levi, spooning him and draping a wing over them, enveloping them in velvety softness.

It was everything he’d been craving and his omega was instantly soothed, a sense of warm peacefulness overtaking him. Levi felt a quiet purr rumble in his chest and made no move to stop it as Eren shifted them, pulling the omega closer and draping an arm over his waist, slipping the other under Levi’s head to act as a pillow.

He felt Eren smile against him as the vibrations from his purring reverberated through both of their bodies and an answering croon made the vibrations only increase. His wings were a bit smushed between their bodies, but it wasn’t uncomfortable; they were flexible enough to fold over like they were without it being painful.

Levi didn’t think he’d ever felt so comfortable in his entire life. His purr shifted a bit into a coo as he wiggled closer, rubbing his ass inadvertently against Eren's hips. He got a shocked gasp followed by a tug of his hair in reprimand.

“Settle down,” Eren grumbled and Levi gave a soft laugh followed by a small sigh of contentment.

Fingers carded through his hair now that they were done tugging and Levi’s purr increased in volume, vibrating quietly through his chest. He felt himself drifting off when Eren spoke quietly, his voice quiet so as to not disturb Levi too much.

“You never mentioned you were a member of the Scouts here as well,” he said softly, voice a bit strange. “I knew you wore the harness, but I assumed it was just because you were on a long flight.”

Levi didn’t move as he simply replied, “It didn’t seem like pertinent information at the time.” Eren remained silent, slowly combing Levi’s hair in thought and he tensed up a bit. “I swear to the Moon, if you start getting overprotective-”

“What?” Eren asked, cutting him off. He realized what Levi was worried about and quickly shook his head. “No, I think it’s amazing and I’m happy you have another chance to fulfil your role as captain. It’s just…” he trailed off a bit before giving a small sigh. “I know so little about you, and I want to know _everything_.”

His voice sounded a bit desolate. It had obviously been greatly bothering him. “We have plenty of time for that, Eren,” Levi murmured, thinking about the long lifespans of sprites, and the even longer lifespan of the Startouched. As his _asula_ , Eren shared that lengthened time with him. It brought his mind back to the meeting with Erwin and he remembered something he’d been wanting to say. “You did well today. I was extremely impressed.”

A low chuckle came from Eren, vibrating through Levi’s body. “I was a doctor’s son, remember? We were… doctors are highly regarded in human society and there’s a certain role we have to play when being social.”

“You’ll have to tell me about yourself, too. But for now, let’s rest,” Levi mumbled, biting back a yawn. Eren seemed like he wanted to talk more, to say something, but Levi cut him off. “You’re most likely not used to a nocturnal schedule. If you wake up before I do, go find Hanji; she’ll be able to tell you more about us and will know why you’re there. You should be able to find her by the reek but if not, just ask a sprite who doesn’t look busy.”

Eren hummed softly, nestling closer and stroking his neck over Levi’s hair softly before nosing through the strands and snuffling a bit. Levi allowed it, knowing that it was simply an alpha’s desire to make sure he was safe and situated comfortably before falling asleep.

Levi felt nothing but sleepy and content, the vibrations from his purr growing louder as Eren nuzzled his neck. Eren let out a satisfied sound from the back of his throat as all he could smell was relaxed, warm lavender and honey; he settled back and curled a bit more tightly around Levi.

“What if they start prying?” Eren murmured, and Levi could practically hear the sleepiness in Eren's voice.

Levi could relate; surrounded by Eren's wings, covered in his scent and spooned tightly, Levi had never felt more comfortable or safe. His inner omega was purring and practically comatose in contentment, pleased to have such a protective, attentive alpha nearby.

“Tell them the same things you did Erwin. Leave out you being a human and my Startouched status. If they get pushy, excuse yourself and leave,” Levi mumbled, his words slurring together as he slipped into sleep. “You don’t owe anyone shit.”

````

Instead of returning to her hollow as promised, Hanji flew a couple of circles around the community, waiting until she saw Levi’s dark wings speed by, followed by shining aqua.

Once Levi was gone, she immediately banked left and then pulled herself up straight, beating her wings to spiral up through the twisting branches. Hanji dropped onto the branch right outside the hollow Erwin was in and then straightened up, casting her eyes around.

There was a crowd of sprites outside the entrance to Erwin’s work-hollow and Hanji rolled her mahogany eyes. Erwin was just going to have to make a community-wide announcement at some point, Hanji thought. There was no way he would be able to talk to every sprite who called Rose home and not lose his mind.

She pushed her way to the front. Some sprites grumbled but when they saw who it was, their muttering stopped. As Rose’s healer and dynamic expert along with Erwin’s closest friend, she was afforded nearly the same level of respect that the Commander was.

Even if she was a bit… exuberant.

“Erwin,” Hanji called, tossing the curtain aside and waving her hand. “Thought you could use a break!”

“Thank the Sun,” Erwin groaned as he looked up and saw her familiar form. “Tell them I’m taking a rest and close the damned curtain before another one slips inside.”

He’d just finished explaining what he could to the third little group of curious sprites and he was about ready to rip his hair out from his roots.

Yes, there was recently come-out omega in Rose.

Yes, it was Levi, and he’d had a reason for hiding his secondary gender.

Yes, there was a newcomer he’d accepted into Rose.

Yes, everything was going to be fine. Nothing to worry about.

He’d answered different iterations of the same base question at least three times since Levi and his little entourage had left, and already he was sick of repeating himself. Hanji’s sudden appearance was a relief. He could deal with manic and boisterous easily, because he _liked_ Hanji. He liked his community’s sprites, too, but not their repeated questions.

Erwin was seriously considering closing his community hollow for the day and just making an announcement at dinner when all the sprites were gathered at the dining level. It was probably what he should have just done in the first place.

Hanji clucked her tongue in sympathy and poked her head out of the hollow, gripping the privacy curtain. “The Commander is taking a rest and then has urgent business with me, so everyone scram for a hop,” Hanji said, smiling brightly. She didn’t wait to hear the annoyed protests as she pulled her head back in and tugged the curtain closed.

Erwin dropped down onto the chair behind his desk with a groan of relief.

Poor sprite.

Hanji folded her arms and stepped forwards, flicking her wings in sympathy. “Rough day, buddy?” Hanji asked, not bothering with the formalities.

It was a bit pointless, after all. Hanji came from a family of healers who had been in Rose practically since the first trees were grown. She and Erwin had hatched around the same time and knew each other since they were fledglings. She’d been there when Erwin lost his arm to a particularly aggressive owl, and he’d been there when a pebble blown by the wind from a particularly nasty storm had nearly taken out her eye.

It was lucky that there had been a Sunlight omega nearby. While not quite as skilled as an Earthshatter omega in the healing nature of Earth magic, Historia had been able to assist Hanji in cleaning out the eye of debris under the beta healer’s direction and healing the damage before it became irreparable.

“A bit,” Erwin said, sitting back and closing his wings with a flick of his flight muscles. He scrubbed a hand over his face, staring at the wall for a second before he returned his gaze to Hanji. “Thank you for the intervention.”

“No problem, Commander,” Hanji chirped, taking a seat on one of the cushions near the desk. “I came to get the full story. I’m _very_ interested in what I missed and you look like you need to have a rant.”

“A rant? Not quite, but…” Erwin trailed off, shaking his head. “I knew Levi was an omega, so that wasn’t a surprise, but to be Startouched as well…”

Hanji nodded in sympathy. It was a lot to take in, but Erwin looked a bit overwhelmed and she could get the details from either him or Levi later. She knew of Startouched; not much, but enough. What she was more interested in was hearing about Eren, their newest alpha. Not much had been said about Levi’s _asula_ , and she was very interested in learning more about the rather odd sprite.

“What about Eren? He’s very strange-looking. Not in a bad way,” she hastily said, knowing it was quite rude to insult a sprite’s appearance based on their race, “but I know sprites are gonna start asking questions, and it only takes one slip for the community to find out his story is completely made up.”

Erwin sighed heavily and scrubbed a hand over his face once more before he turned back to Hanji. “He looks odd because he’s a Tidalwave sprite,” he muttered, expecting an excited yell from Hanji.

When none came, he cracked open an eyelid to see Hanji frowning at him pensively. Definitely not the reaction he was expecting. Hanji was their resident healer and expert on their dynamics, but she also had in inquisitive, clever mind and reveled in challenges and new information.

“You’re sure?” she asked slowly, brows furrowing before she shook her head. “Erwin, no one’s seen a sprite from that race since your father was a child.”

“I’m positive.” Erwin reassured her. Though she still looked a bit skeptical, he could still paractically see her mind churning, putting everything together. “I don’t know why Levi’s wish turned Eren into that specific race; we don’t know enough about how the stars choose to fulfill a wish. I’d be interested to hear your theories after you meet with him later today.”

“Ooh, what for?” Hanji asked, sitting up, mind already racing with questions she could ask the former human. “I already planned to see Levi, but I’m more than happy to talk to Eren alone and pick his brain a bit. I want to hear more about these humans.”

“Feel free to do so, but I would like it if you spent some time explaining our dynamics to him,” Erwin said, making sure to stress that part. Hanji could get a bit sidetracked at times after all, her mind spinning down a dozen different paths. “Think of him as a newly-presented alpha; Levi is going to go into a bonding heat soon, and I don’t want Levi to get hurt when Eren goes into a corresponding rut.”

“Ah, so that’s why our tiny Scout Leader smelled so sweet. I gotta say, I’m used to him not really smelling like anything, so it was a bit of a shock,” Hanji hummed. “I don’t think Eren would intentionally hurt him, but it wouldn’t hurt to give him a detailed explanation so he’s better equipped to handle it.”

“Exactly. Considering the Moonglow’s precarious situation, I’m relieved to see that Eren's protective instincts are quite keen. My alpha was very pleased with Eren today,” Erwin said, a low rumble emanating from his chest at the thought. Eren wasn’t one to simply sit by and let his omega be in danger or distress, Erwin could easily tell. He was respectful of Levi and treated him like an equal while still being fiercely protective. “He seems to be very attuned to Levi’s emotional and physical state already, even though they’re not yet bonded.”

“I don’t think you’re giving Levi enough credit. Our little omega wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfect,” Hanji laughed.

Erwin gave a small chuckle as well, because Hanji was right. _Asula_ or not, Levi tolerated a select few sprites. That he seemed so comfortable around Eren and smelled so strongly of the alpha meant that Levi had fully accepted him, and that alone made Erwin approve of the former human.

Already, Levi’s scent had started to turn sweet, indicating that he was in pre-heat. His body was preparing to go into a short mating cycle so that he could bond with his chosen alpha.

It made Erwin’s heart glad to see that Levi was so obviously content with his _asula_. Levi’s life had been filled with tragedy and uncertainty; it was time for the omega to shake off the chains of the past and find happiness.

“You should actually have Eren dropping by later today,” Erwin informed her, shaking himself from his thoughts. “I asked Levi to send him to you and he seemed amenable. They’re both most likely sleeping now, but Eren doesn’t seem to be on a nocturnal schedule so I can’t imagine him sleeping for too long.”

“Gotcha. I should get back anyways,” Hanji said, standing and stretching her arms above her head with a low groan, spreading her wings as well. Her back was a bit sore from being bent over for so long foraging for herbs earlier, and her work was calling her. “Some of the herbs I use are most effective if ground up or preserved right after being picked, and I don’t want them to wilt.”

She eyed Erwin’s stump, a reminder sparking. “I’ll make up some of the numbing salve for your arm, as well. I’ll drop it off after I meet with both members of our newest dynamic duo.”

Erwin reached over to brush a hand over his stump; it had happened a long time ago, but it still occasionally ached, the scar tissue stretching tight over the remainder of his arm. “Thank you,” Erwin said genuinely. “I would appreciate that. Your medicine works like a miracle.”

“Any time, Commander,” Hanji winked and turned to go when Erwin suddenly remembered something.

“Oh, and Hanji?” he called, causing Hanji to pause and turn. “Please keep an eye on Zeke, and when you see Mike at the dining level, tell him to do the same for me.” Erwin’s eyes narrowed in thought. “He was one of the first ones to see me, and the questions he asked were very specific, which I thought was strange.”

“Oh? How so?” Hanji asked, wracking her brain to remember who the sprite was. “He’s the alpha who came from the Marley Sunlight community, right? Bearded, came with that other burly blonde alpha and Skybound beta?”

“Yes,” Erwin confirmed, thinking about the three sprites who had settled into their community some time ago. “He seemed to want confirmation that the new scent in the community came from a Moonglow omega. He also asked about Levi’s wings; at the time, I thought he was trying to recall who Levi was, but now…” Erwin trailed off, eyes narrowing as he recalled the interaction.

Hanji inhaled sharply, understanding what Erwin was trying to convey. “You think he knows Levi has a Touched ability?”

“I don’t see how he would, unless the Marley community had some sort of record on the lost Touched, just as my father did. I’m probably just being paranoid, but…”

“You’re just looking out for Levi,” Hanji soothed, smelling the trace of anxiety that had started to seep into Erwin’s normally calm scent. “He’s in pre-heat and your alpha is platonically and paternally attached to him, sees him as its fledgling. It’s natural.”

There was no way a bond would have taken between Erwin and Levi, Hanji thought. Erwin’s alpha had become so attuned to his community that he looked upon all the sprites living in Rose with more of a paternal air. His alpha had extremely keen protective instincts, watching over all of his ‘children’ with a caring, fatherly eye. Levi was also his friend, someone his alpha was close to and an omega about to go into a mating cycle where he was extremely vulnerable, so of course it made sense his instincts were on edge.

It didn’t mean that Erwin was wrong, however. Erwin was sharp and his gut feelings were rarely ever wrong. Even if he was being overcautious, the fact that something about the three somewhat recent additions to Rose had his alpha’s hackles up meant there was something worth watching out for.

Erwin sighed and shook his head. Maybe he was being overly cautious, but something about Zeke’s mannerisms still rubbed him the wrong way. “Perhaps, but there has always been something that sets my alpha on edge around those three; Zeke in particular,” he stressed. “Until Levi’s heat is over, I would appreciate it if you two kept a careful watch out for anything off.”

“You got it, Commander,” Hanji winked. “Everything is going to go well; I’ve already decided to be his heat caretaker. I’ll make sure everything goes well. Nothing will happen to our little omega. I’ll make damned sure of that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, you may have been expecting Erwin to be a bit of an asshole. Honestly, I dislike making characters into assholes when they're really not. Also, I really, really like Erwin. I’m as much of an Eruri fan as I am an Ereri, but he’s a hard mf to write so I stick to Eren and Levi.
> 
> Next chapter we dive a bit more into some worldbuilding along with some lore. 
> 
> Liking this? Hating it? Let me know, I'm a slut for feedback. Feed the muse, the muse loves you <3


	4. The cold light rends the night sky; we welcome the chill of the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I know it’s a scary thought and I didn’t mean to dampen the mood, but I needed you to know how precarious their situation really is.”
> 
> “I… even if you hadn’t told me that, it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Eren hissed. “I… I love him,” Eren realized, blinking. His alpha purred in approval at the thought and then his voice grew more confident as he continued. “I love him and even before I was changed, I would have done anything in my power to protect him from any harm.”
> 
> “I know,” Hanji said softly, her scent going warm with approval at the words, “but it was something you needed to know. But I need you to realize that if something ever happens, if our community is ever threatened or lives are in danger, Levi’s safety will always take highest priority. As one of the last few Moonglow omegas that we know of and the only Startouched we’ve ever seen, we absolutely cannot let anything happen to him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much happens in this chapter, but I had fun writing it. Except long conversations. Like fuck, how do you make standing around talking interesting? Ugh.
> 
> Honestly Ymir is bae af, I love Potato Girl and after Krista dropped the sweet attitude and became badass Historia, I absolutely think she's Best Girl. I miss Moblit, too. He was neat. 
> 
> Also, Promare is an awesome movie with a cool art style and gorgeous music; I highly recommend watching it if you haven't.

When Eren started regaining consciousness, he was immediately very confused.

He wasn’t in his tent back in camp, that much he was sure of. The bed he was lying on was too soft and warm to be his sleeping roll on the ground. There was a warm blanket over him and an even warmer body curled up against his chest, legs tangled with his. Eren's back was sore and achy too, and the top of his head felt heavier than he remembered it being.

It was very dark, with only a few rays of sunlight seeping into the hollow –

Eren startled, wings shifting a bit as the memories of the past day came back to hit him over the head with a vengeance.

The hollow. Levi. Right. They were in the Rose community.

Levi. His soulmate, his other half, his _asula_. They were in Levi’s home, had come back to sleep after talking to Erwin. He’d been accepted into Rose and basically been given Erwin’s blessing.

He was groggy as hell and his eyes were still heavy with sleep, but Eren pushed himself up a bit to look down at the sleeping Moonglow sprite. A fond smile pulled at his lips as he inhaled deeply and Levi’s lovely warm lavender and honey scent filled his senses.

It was strange, to be able to literally smell someone’s emotions, but Eren thought it was quite useful and also just _nice_ , especially at times like these. Levi’s scent was warm and soothing; it was basically broadcasting the fact that he was happy and content, that he felt safe and comfortable and his alpha rumbled in pleasure at the thought.

It was too dark to really see well, but he could tell that Levi was practically dead to the world. His breathing was deep and even, puffing over Eren's chest in warm, steady waves. One hand loosely gripped Eren's shirt at his waist, the other was shoved under the pillow they’d been sharing. His wings were splayed behind them, and it was amazing to see how much they changed when in the darkness.

Apparently, the colors of a Moonglow sprite’s wings really shone and could only truly be seen under the light of the moon. However, as long as it was dark, the colorful hues could be seen, the darkness sparking their luminescence.

In the bright sunlight, they had looked almost completely black with a few faint threads of grey in them. Isabel and Farlan’s had looked incredibly dark as well. But now, with only the barest hint hint of light in the nearly pitch-black hollow, Eren could see all of the burnished, shining silvers edging the sides of the wings and threading through the inky expanse, the soft, misty greys that lightened the base of his wings but faded quickly into black.

So pretty.

Eren's heart swelled as he lay there with Levi, simply basking in the omega’s warm presence as he waited for his grogginess to fade. Levi’s scent had relaxed while he was asleep and was filling the hollow. Due to the tea Levi drank that suppressed his scent, when they’d first arrived, Levi’s hollow barely smelled of him at all. Now, however, the air and clothing was saturated with both Eren's own unique scent and sweet lavender, warm honey and notes of darker nightshade that seemed to come out occasionally.

The warmth of the scent Levi was giving off bespoke a happy, sleepy omega and it didn’t change even when Levi sighed softly and nuzzled closer into Eren's chest.

Levi’s cute, small nose was warm as it poked into his throat and Eren smiled when the sprite gave a little sleepy sniff and immediately fell back asleep with a sigh. He wished he could see Levi’s face; he wanted to see what the omega looked like when he was completely relaxed. Eren wondered if that little furrow between his brows smoothed out when he slept.

It was tempting to get up and open the curtain a bit, but Levi had seemed dead tired yesterday when they returned from meeting Erwin and Eren refused disturb his sleep.

Levi was extremely sensitive to the light; doing so would probably wake him up and Eren refused to do that. He needed as much sleep as possible.

Eren was still somewhat groggy, but he was waking up slowly. He’d wait a bit longer before venturing out and facing the community.

He pulled Levi a bit closer, nosing through sweet-smelling, soft black strands and thought about the past day, about everything that had happened and he’d learned.

He was a member of Rose now; the meeting with Erwin had gone exceedingly well, just as Levi had said it would. Eren almost wondered if it was a Startouch thing, because hadn’t Levi mentioned something about prophetic dreams?

But no, Levi had only rekindled his Startouch powers last night, so it wasn’t possible. He seemed very comfortable with Erwin, so it was probably just the fact that they knew each other. His alpha still was a bit uneasy around the Commander, probably because he was an older alpha in a position of power.

Well, that, and he had been the direct source of Levi’s upset. That didn’t win Erwin any points with Eren's alpha, he supposed.

Still, he thought about some of the gifts the Startouched had and wondered what else would eventually manifest within Levi. The extended lifespan was interesting; the way Levi talked about past events made it sound like he was older than he looked and considering he was a magic-using mythical creature, Eren didn’t think it was outside the realm of possibility.

The faint ray of sunlight had traveled further across the floor and feeling suitably awake, Eren sighed and knew he should get up and meet Hanji. He wondered idly where to get some clothes because he couldn’t just wander out naked, when he suddenly stopped as realization struck.

…Because his clothes were still on.

Hadn’t Levi said they would disappear while he slept, because they were only an illusion? Eren was pretty sure he remembered Levi saying something along those lines last night when he’d literally spun them out of thin air.

Erwin had said that Startouched omegas were able to make their illusions stronger, so maybe this was why?

Either way, it was somewhat of a relief, because he didn’t want to have to wake Levi to be able to get some clothes. He’d just take some of Levi’s, but there was no way anything of the omega’s would fit him. A small smile crossed his face as he looked down at Levi; while short, the sprite was by no means _small_ , and that pleased him. Levi was the perfect height to tuck against his chest and allow Eren to curl around him, but still strong and well-proportioned.

Eren had always gone for the strong, short, pretty types anyway; Levi fit perfectly into every one of those categories. Just went to show that the universe did know him well.

Brows furrowing a bit at the displeasure of having to get up, Eren slowly retracted the wing he’d draped over, careful not to disturb the sleeping omega. He flicked it back into resting position behind him just as Levi murmured something in his sleep that sounded something like _‘cold.’_ Eren froze when the omega started weakly reaching around, searching for Eren's wing to draw back over him and started searching around for anything he could use as a replacement.

Eren's eyes went over to where he could just faintly see the outline of the stack of neatly-folded blankets. Carefully, so as to not disturb Levi, he stretched out an arm and snagged one. To his pleasure, he found that the blankets were actually very warm despite being thin and lightweight; they were also very soft, similar to Eren's wings in texture and feel.

Eren made a mental note that Levi apparently liked soft things. His alpha was suddenly filled with the urge to seek out and find the softest fabrics and materials to bring back for Levi, drop them at the omega’s nest and seek his approval.

Eren shook his head, tamping down the desire. God, his new inner voice was loud and downright _weird_ at times. He was just grateful that apparently, Levi and the other sprites had one too or Eren probably would have gone insane by now. In some regards it was helpful, but when it wanted him to do things he didn’t understand, it could be frustrating.

Eren was starting to notice a pattern, though; his alpha’s voice and urges all seemed to be centered around Levi. He’d have to ask Hanji about it when he saw her, figure this whole ‘instinctual voice’ out.

Sighing a bit and shaking his head, Eren carefully dragged the blanket over, sliding it over Levi and trying to replicate the way his wing had draped over the smaller sprite. Apparently, it was enough to satisfy the omega, because he let out a faint, content hum. Eren's alpha rumbled in pleasure, and Eren was glad.

In some regards, it was so simple.

Happy omega, happy alpha.

His own scent was starting to inundate the room more heavily now that he’d woken up and Levi shifted, making a few sleepy, confused noises. They melted Eren's heart and he cooed at the omega, listening as the barely-awake sprite let out a faint chirp of acknowledgement.

“Shh,” Eren said softly, his voice pitching down into a croon to soothe the omega back to sleep. Levi instantly stilled and he took the opportunity to extricate himself from Levi’s tangle of limbs, though all he truly wanted was to lay around in bed until Levi woke up.

He desperately needed to go talk to Hanji, though; he wanted to learn more about the community, sprites, and the changes to his body along with the new instincts that seemed to be hitting him with a vengeance. Eren wanted to do right by Levi, and the thought gave him the strength to shift away a bit more, edging towards the basin’s edge, where it turned to floor.

“Mmm?” Levi murmured as Eren carefully slid out of the nest. Not wanting to wake the omega any further from his sleep, Eren froze for a moment as Levi shifted around a bit. The sprite scooted into the warm place that Eren had been occupying and shoved his nose into the pillow.

Eren's heart swelled at the sight and his alpha purred; Levi was seeking out his scent, knew that Eren was leaving even in the middle of a deep sleep. Instinctively, Eren reached out to rub his wrist over the pillow, coaxing some oils to the surface and saturating the fabric with his scent.

“Shhh,” Eren crooned once more, reaching out to stroke his fingers over Levi’s hair while his other hand rose from the pillow to gently rub the oils from his scent gland against the one on Levi’s neck. It would trick the omega into thinking he was still there and keep him from waking due to Eren's absence for a bit longer.

At the touch, the sprite immediately still and quieted, huffing out a satisfied sigh. “I’ll be back soon,” Eren whispered, tucking the blanket more firmly around the slumbering omega so that it wouldn’t come loose if Levi shifted a bit more.

Levi didn’t respond at all, and though everything was screaming at Eren to stay, he knew it would benefit them both in the long run to go speak with the healer. There was just something about Levi’s extremely sweet, almost vulnerable scent and the fact that he was sleeping so deeply that made Eren's alpha growl at the thought of leaving him all alone here.

But Eren was stronger than his instincts, was able to shove his inner voice down, though the feeling of unease didn’t leave him. After smoothing back a few stray, ink-black hairs, Eren finished sliding out of the nest and silently rose to his feet. He had to move carefully just in case he bumped into anything, but luckily the hollow wasn’t cluttered at all. Stealthily, Eren padded over to the entrance of the hollow, fumbling around a bit for his boots.

His hands met cool, soft leather and Eren slid his fingers down to check the size of the foot. They were large, which meant they were his. There was no way Levi’s small feet could fit into those. Eren grabbed them and then carefully slipped outside, pushing the curtain away only enough to get out, making sure no sunlight entered the hollow.

After making sure the curtain was secure and there was no sunlight seeping through, he leaned against the wood of the entrance to tug his boots on, wiggling his feet a bit to settle them. Eren then looked up, squinting a bit in the bright light as his eyes adjusted.

The sight of the community in the late afternoon was just as amazing at it had been earlier this morning. The large community tree was a bit emptier than it had been during breakfast, but it was by no means deserted. The dining level had only a few scattered groups of sprites eating meals, their wings glinting in the sun and sending reflected light scattering and winking all over the place.

“Eren?”

The sound of his name being called made him jerk around and he saw a tall brunet with light auburn and soft black wings hovering just behind him. There were marks on his neck that reminded him of the ones on both Farlan and Isabel’s neck. It was strange; his and Levi’s necks lacked any sort of markings, and so had Erwin’s.

Clearing his throat, Eren nodded, a bit wary of this sprite who apparently knew him. “Yeah, I’m Eren.”

“Oh, good.” The sprite smiled kindly at him and Eren instantly decided he liked this new person. He sniffed slightly and found that unlike the few sprites he’d met, this one’s scent was fairly subtle and a bit harder to pin down. He flitted a bit closer and dropped onto the branch, casting a look at the closed curtain. “Is Levi still asleep, then?”

Eren stiffened for a second at the question, wings flicking in sudden irritation. Why did this sprite care if Levi was asleep or not?

His alpha perked its head up and immediately the sprite held up his hands in a familiar gesture meant to show that he meant no ill will. After a quick second assessment, Eren decided that his scent was rather like Isabel’s: neutral and calming. Eren wondered if he was a beta as well. He just didn’t know enough about the different dynamics to be sure.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude,” the sprite said. “I just don’t want to be too loud if he is.”

Instantly Eren relaxed at the explanation. A bit sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his neck and gave a slightly nervous chuckle, realizing he’d been a bit aggressive for no reason at all. “Ah, yeah. He’s asleep, but I’m not quite used to being asleep during the day.” Eren sighed, flicking his wings closed from where they’d instinctively flared open a bit. “Sorry for uh, being a bit hostile. This is all so new to me.”

“What do you mean?” the sprite said, tilting his head a bit to regard Eren curiously.

“Ah… I mean, I’m not used to being around other sprites,” Eren hastily corrected. “I’m – _was_ a _valus_ , so being in a community again is a bit strange.”

The sprite offered him another one of those kind smiles. Eren _really_ liked this sprite. “That’s understandable. I’m Moblit Berner, beta of the Earthshatter Berner family and Hanji Zoe’s bondmate,” he said, introducing himself and inclining his head.

“You… know Hanji?” Eren said, recognizing the word ‘bondmate’ but not really understanding what it meant.

Moblit laughed, flicking his wings a bit in humor. “I like to think I know her pretty well, but even after all these summers together, I still feel like I don’t know her quite well enough,” he said with a wink. After a moment, his eyes flicked around almost nervously and he stepped closer, lowering his voice to a bare whisper. “Hanji hasn’t told me everything, but she’s filled me in on a few of the details about you and Levi.”

Eren frowned, a flash of annoyance surging through him and making his wings flap in agitation. So much for nothing going past the hollow.

Sensing Eren's mood, Moblit shook his head. “The secret is safe with me. You and Levi aren’t bonded yet so you probably don’t know, but it’s very hard to keep secrets from the sprite you’re bonded to,” he said. “Things kind of… bleed over, so as soon as Hanji learned about you and Levi, I knew as well. It’s why I’m here.”

“Why’s that?” Eren asked tilting his head, relaxing a bit. He still felt a bit uneasy at someone that he hadn’t met knowing his secret, but so far he’d sensed no dishonesty from the sprite. He didn’t know this Hanji very well, but Erwin seemed to trust her and if she was with Moblit, then everything was probably alright.

“I don’t want you to have to face the community alone,” Moblit told him, hopping into the air with a flick of his wings. “I’ll take you to the dining level to get food. I’m sure you’re starving, and we can get extra for you to bring back for Levi as well. I’ll explain a few things on the way and give you a brief tour of the community as we fly.”

Eren's alpha purred at the thought of being able to provide for Levi and his stomach chose at that moment to growl as well. Moblit laughed lightly. “Come on. The cooking hearths are open all day,” he said, gesturing at Eren.

“You don’t have to buy food?” the alpha asked in confusion, jumping into the air and following as Moblit slowly flew closer to the large, thick tree in the middle where numerous sprites flitted around.

“Buy?” Moblit asked, frowning a bit, trying to think if he’d ever heard the word. “I don’t know what that means. Is it like trading?”

“Kind of,” Eren said, shrugging. It was a close enough approximation.

“Then, no,” Moblit said, shaking his head. “The community is just that: a community. We have rotating task and chore groups each week. Everyone pitches in, so everyone is free to reap the benefits,” he explained. “I was actually just on gathering duty today, so the berries in the tarts we’re going to snag might have been gathered by me,” he laughed, flashing a grin.

Eren blinked before a slow smile crept over his face. No worrying about money or status, everyone working together and helping…

“I…really like that,” he admitted, chest feeling a bit lighter as they flew.

Suddenly, Moblit slowed as they drew near the community tree and he pretended to point up at a few of the branches as he turned to face Eren.

“If anyone asks,” Moblit said quietly, “I’m your guide and was asked to show you around by Erwin. Sprites will be less likely to approach you if you have someone with you. They won’t want to interrupt and appear rude.”

Eren nodded. Sprites seemed to place a heavy emphasis on politeness, which, while not strange, wasn’t something he’d ever experienced to this extent. “It seems like being polite is very important here.”

“Is that so strange? Is it not like that where you come from?” Moblit asked, being deliberately vague. He didn’t want to use any words like ‘human’ in case they were overheard.

“Yes and no,” Eren hummed, zipping after Moblit as they made their way over to a series of twisting branches that led to the cooking platform. “You are all genuinely polite. Kind, too. We place importance on it, but few are rarely sincere about it. It’s more for appearances and appearing proper in society’s eyes.”

He remembered all the parties and galas he went to in England. The rich donated just enough money to appear philanthropic, but were actually quite greedy and closed-fisted. In public, everyone greeted each other and talked kindly, then dropped the veneer and spat hate behind closed doors.

Eren blinked. Humans were fake, hollow creatures. He remembered the genuine worry in Levi’s eyes when he’d first awoken as a sprite, the way Isabel and Farlan had joked with him and encouraged him to fly, Erwin’s warm, welcoming smile as held out his palms in acceptance, and now, Moblit’s quiet reassurances and quick offer to show him around the community.

These sprites had shown him genuine care and kindness despite him only having been one for not even a full 24 hours at this point. Not one of them had judged him for not being born a sprite, and suddenly, Eren was more than happy to shed his human past and embrace his future as a sprite fully.

“That’s strange to me,” Moblit said. “There’s no purpose in pretending to appear polite if there’s no true meaning behind it.”

Eren agreed, but it was hard to explain that facet of human society to a sprite. “It is,” Eren decided, flashing Moblit a quick, relaxed grin. “I rather like this way of life better.”

Moblit hummed and they ascended up to the cooking level. There were a number of sprites doing various tasks on different platforms and levels around the community tree. He saw some sitting in a group with piles of different colors of dyed grass and rope spread around them, weaving what looked to be rugs and wall hangings similar to Levi’s, though in brighter colors. Other groups had planks or chunks of wood and were using what looked to be their claws to shave away at the wood, carving it into various utensils and tools.

Closer to the ground, there was another level that had slabs of stone making up the platform rather than wood. A few large, open fires roared and he saw a few sprites with four wings flitting around them. Sprites were working metal on this platform and Eren guessed it was where the sprites did their smithing. It made sense that it was so close to the ground and away from any other wooden platforms or branches. All it took was one spark to start a fire. The four-winged omegas were constantly glowing with magic as the other sprites hammered and worked with the metal, most likely controlling the temperature of the fire.

Other sprites were flitting around the entirety of the tree and platforms with bandanas tied around their hair and mouths, carrying wooden buckets filled with water. Eren saw them scrubbing the wooden platforms and railing, swiftly followed along by other sprites who appeared to be smoothing an oil onto the wood once it was clean. Eren was sure it was to ensure that the wood stayed smooth and firm and wouldn’t dry out and crack.

He was amazed at how the entire community seemed so happy while working, laughing and chatting as they worked. Their wings waved and flicked as they worked, completely content in their tasks and the sense of camaraderie that they shared.

Occasionally, small groups of sprites in twos or threes dressed in white pants and short brown jackets flitted by occasionally. A large, blooming red rose was sewn elegantly onto the back of the jackets and smaller ones were present on their sleeves and the front of the jacket as well. They wore the same harness and straps Levi had on previously, along with the twin swords that he’d carried.

Eren's eyes widened; he’d left Levi’s tiny swords back in his tent. He briefly recalled that Levi had taken them off when Eren had taken a look at his leg, but he’d been so desperate to reunite Levi with Isabel and Farlan that he’d completely forgotten them there.

Fuck. He hoped that no one would find them and wonder what they were. With any luck, they would be small enough to pass as toothpicks or needles and Eren sighed at the thought before shaking his head. No use worrying about it now. 

“We’re headed to the dining level,” Moblit said, after gaining Eren's attention with a short chirp. He pointed at one of the middle platforms, gesturing that they should land there. Eren nodded and followed Moblit to one of the little balconies set off to the side; it lacked a railing and extended off into one of the branches connecting the living hollows to the community tree.

Moblit dropped down onto the platform with Eren doing the same a moment later. He gestured at Eren to follow him and as they walked towards the middle of the platform, Eren looked around, taking everything in.

It looked rather like the kitchens of the large mansions Eren had been in before, though more spacious and nature-based, with more fires, ovens, tables and shelves. A group of cheery sprites were bustling around, preparing food and cleaning up as they worked. There was a sense of companionship and happiness Eren could feel emanating from the area. It made him smile and put a bounce in his step, affected by the positive pheromones from so many sprites gathered in one place.

It was fascinating to see more of the sprites up close; though they all shared similar traits, not a single one of them looked the same. Their horns, wing shape and color all differed, along with their markings.

He saw a couple of sprites with four wings like Levi working and watched as one brought a stone tray of what looked to be uncooked pastries up to one of the enclosed fires. The omega set it down and to Eren's amazement, her markings lit up just like Levi’s and she held a hand over the pastries. Her glow intensified, gaining a faint yellow hue and the fire seemed to burn a bit brighter. A few moments later, the pastry dough rapidly rose and started browning, the rich purple berry filling bubbling the slightest bit as they baked inside the crust.

In a matter of seconds, the little fruit-filled pastries were cooked. A sweet, slightly tart smell wafted over to him and Eren’s stomach growled again as he smelled a mixture of cinnamon, star anise, blackberry and freshly-baked bread.

“That’s Sasha Blouse,” Moblit told him, grinning as he caught her attention and waved. “She’s one of the best cooks and bakers we have. I didn’t know she was on cooking rotation today,” he remarked, sounding rather pleased.

“Levi mentioned that Sunlight omegas are some of the best cooks and smiths,” Eren murmured as they drew closer. Sasha looked up at them and smiled as she slid the pastries off of the tray and onto a wooden slab meant for display and slit it over to a few others with a different array of baked goods and treats on them. “I can definitely see why now. She’s able to control the temperature to cook them perfectly, right?”

Moblit nodded slightly and they stepped up to the counter, eyeing the displayed goods. Eren had to swallow back the drool as he eyed the baked pastries being offered and forced himself to focus on the sprite who was staring at him in unabashed curiosity.

Despite the hunger gnawing at his stomach, Eren could help but return the girl’s curiosity. She was the first omega other than Levi that he had really seen up close and so hopefully, without being too blatantly obvious, Eren discreetly examined her back.

She was obviously a Sunlight sprite; her horns were a deep, almost crimson red that sat nestled in a thick head of mahogany-brown hair. Her large eyes were a light, warm brown but Eren could see a sense of mischief glimmering within them. Her wings were a deep, rich amber with crimson borders and patterning. They glinted in the sunlight and Eren could see that the bottom set was lighter, more yellow-hued while the thicker top set was darker and more orange.

Her facial markings were interesting to Eren; it was a line running across her cheeks and over the bridge of her nose, made up of tiny triangles. Like every other sprite, her arms and skin had elegant black markings etched into it. As with Levi’s, the black lines running down her exposed arms and other bits of exposed skin were thinner and softer in shape when compared to Eren’s, but that was where the similarities ended. Levi’s omega markings were longer and more trailing, curved slashes of black intermingled with peaking lines that looked almost like waves, whereas Sasha’s were a myriad of long curls and circles of different sizes.

What Levi had said about them representing their races suddenly made sense, Eren thought, staring at her arms. When he looked at Sasha’s arms, images of the sun and its rays immediately sprung unbidden to his mind; when he looked at Levi’s, the soft curve of a crescent moon and long, streaking path of a falling star were what appeared in his mind’s eye.

“Hey, Moblit! And you’re the new alpha that we saw with Levi, right?” she asked, setting the tray aside and plopping her elbows on the counter. She glanced around and then snatched up a pastry, stuffing it into her mouth.

“Sashaaa!” A smaller sprite with closely-cropped hair suddenly materialized next to her and she choked a bit. His wings were a pale, grassy green with darker blues and honey-toned browns threading through them. He looked disapprovingly at her and then reached back to slap her sharply on the back, right between her wings.

Eren's alpha was shocked at the sight of the new arrival hitting the omega, but it became apparent why when she coughed a bit, chewed, and then swallowed the treat in her mouth.

“Thanks, Conny,” she gasped, thumping her chest a bit. She looked to Eren and Moblit, who were watching in amusement. “Sorry about that,” she said brightly. “So, the new alpha, right?”

At that, Conny glanced curiously at Eren and with a sigh, he relented. “Yeah. I arrived earlier with Levi,” he admitted, not wanting to offer up too much information. It seemed wiser to only give the barest details until they hammered out some of the finer details.

“So… that scent that’s on you,” Conny said, leaning over the corner to sniff a bit. “There was a rumor going around that Levi’s actually an omega.” He tapped Sasha on the shoulder and gestured to Eren and Moblit to remind her that they needed food before looking back to the two waiting sprites. “That true?”

“Yes. Levi is my _asula_ ,” Eren said, voice turning a bit proud and his wings flapping a couple of times in pride as he thought about the shorter, dark-haired omega. It felt _right_ to call Levi his, to let everyone know.

At this, Sasha paused in the middle of picking out a few of the nicer-looking pastries and her eyes widened. Connie gasped, his hands slamming down on the counter. “His what?!”

“What?” Sasha squeaked, looking equal parts shocked and excited; her expression was mirrored in Conny’s and Eren threw a pleading glance at Moblit, unsure of what to do. The beta just gave a little smile and shrugged. “Levi has an _asula?”_

“Is that really so shocking?” Eren asked, a bit wary now.

“Levi is our Squad Leader in the Scouts,” Conny explained, furrowing his brows. “We never even suspected he was an omega.” Connie shook his head, drawing back a bit. “He never showed any interest in wanting to bond, either,” he explained. “I remember every spring, at least one or two sprites would ask him if he was gonna participate in Spring Courting and he looked really annoyed.”

Eren had no idea what Spring Courting was, but based on the context, Eren could guess. He found himself biting back a growl, his alpha both rankling and preening at the thought of Levi being approached by other sprites. Of course Levi had sprites interested in him; Eren couldn’t see how the omega _wouldn’t_. However, while his alpha was proud of the fact that Levi was so desirable, his possessiveness also flared because he hated thinking about anyone sniffing around his omega.

Sasha nodded she held out the two pastries to them, hands glowing and markings lighting up once more. Eren felt a wash of heat and when he reached out to accept one of the pastries, it was warm and had faint wisps of steam rising from it, as if fresh from the oven.

“Guess now we know why he never had an interest,” Sasha laughed, though she watched keenly as Eren sniffed at the blackberry tart, blowing away a bit of curling steam. “Turns out he was waiting for you, Eren!”

 _Neat trick_ , Eren thought, taking a tentative bite out of it and then almost moaning as it hit his tongue. Perfectly warmed, the pastry was crisp and flaky on his tongue, the berry filling a wonderful blend of sweet and tart. He finished it off in a few bites, suddenly ravenous.

Conny had nodded seemingly to himself and reached under the counter to pull out a thin wooden box with a piece of red fabric placed inside. He set the box down and laid the red towel on the bottom of it. Eren watched curiously as Conny went around to the various trays, placing different pastries, cakes, and other treats inside.

“Explains some of those crazy moves he has,” Sasha said thoughtfully, snatching up another pastry of her own and taking a large bite out of it. “Must’ve been hard to hide the extra two wings, though. I mean, being an omega isn’t a bad thing. Wonder why he chose to hide it,” she mused, flicking her own wings.

Eren shook his head, cupping a hand under his pastry to prevent any bits from falling to the ground. “It’s not my place to say,” he told her firmly and Sasha nodded in understanding.

“I know, but it makes me sad that he thought he needed to,” she said. “Alpha Smith doesn’t prohibit omegas from joining the Scouts; he started encouraging it, actually.”

“Yeah, but not an omega that’s from a race whose numbers got decimated not too long ago,” Conny muttered wryly, before he stiffened and flushed bright red at seeing the open shock on Eren's face. “Shit, I’m sorry, that was so rude,” he hastily backtracked. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Eren's shock wasn’t from Conny’s words; it was from the implications behind it. He knew that many Moonglow sprites had died in the attack of Maria, but if their numbers were decimated…

Were there not many Moonglow sprites left? Was Levi’s race, for lack of a better term, _endangered?_

“It’s fine,” Eren said faintly, waving the words off, though he was still reeling a bit. He knew Isabel had said that there weren’t many omegas from the race left, that their population had been reduced, but… _decimated?_ Had the attack on Maria really been that devastating to their numbers?

“Here, take these.” Sasha reached out to accept the thin wooden box from Conny. She carefully placed a few more pastries in to it and then closed it, latching it shut.

The movement shook Eren from his dismal thoughts and he blinked down at the box that Sasha held out to him. “Ah, thanks,” Eren said, accepting it. He was careful not to jostle it as he tucked it under his arm. “What are these for?”

“These are for Squad Leader Levi. I’m sure he’ll be ravenous when he wakes up.” She leaned forwards to sniff a bit, her eyes sparkling as she straightened. “Yeah, he’ll definitely be hungry. They’re all his favorites, too.”

“You know what he likes?” Eren said, a bit surprised and confused at Sasha sniffing him. There was a knowing twinkle in her eye, like there was a secret only she was privy to.

Sasha just tilted her head. “Of course,” she said, like it was an obvious thing. “There are a lot of sprites here in Rose, but he and his friends kind of stand out. It’s easy to remember what he usually gets when he drops by.”

“Eventually, we just started bringing his food with us when we gathered for training so he wouldn’t have to stop here. Made sure he got what he liked too, before it was all gone. Both the blueberry and blackberry tarts go fast,” Conny said, throwing a fond glance over to Sasha. “She’s the best at making food. She eats most of it, though, so I guess there’s a drawback,” he laughed.

“Wait, was there supposed to be training today?” Eren asked, thinking back to a sleeping Levi.

“Not today,” Moblit reassured him, reaching for another pastry and taking a small nibble from it. “In Shiganshina it might have been different, but in Rose, only new recruits train every day. Once that training is complete, they fall into the regular schedule. We all get two days off every five days for our bodies to rest and recover.”

“Ah, good,” Eren said, relaxing a bit. He would have felt bad if being here meant Levi missed something important.

“Besides, his squad doesn’t train in the middle of the day like the rest of the Scouts,” Sasha added, rearranging the little blackberry filled tarts.

“He’s nocturnal, so our squad compromises a bit with training and do it mostly at dawn or dusk, before the light is too bright to hurt his eyes. Makes it a bit harder to train, but we’ve gotten used to it,” Conny said.

Eren paused mid-bite and lowered hand. To throw off an entire schedule and have a special accommodation for just one sprite… “That doesn’t bother you?” Eren questioned, a bit skeptical.

Sasha and Conny looked at each other and then shrugged, both entirely nonchalant about the entire thing. “Not really,” Sasha told him, a pleased look in her eye as Eren accepted another pastry; Eren was going to get fat, he just knew it. “It helps Levi out and while our eyes suck at night, the darkness doesn’t hurt our eyes like the light does his.”

“That’s nice,” Eren remarked, happy that his omega was being taken care of in such a subtle, thoughtful way.

“Everyone likes the Squad Leader,” Conny shrugged, “so it’s really not a big deal.”

Someone called Sasha’s name from the group that was just forming little balls of dough to be baked and she flicked her wings in acknowledgement. “I have to go finish up some baking. Good to meet you, Eren!” she said, beaming at him.

“You as well,” Eren nodded. “I’ll return the box later.”

“No, don’t bother,” Sasha said, waving him off. “Consider it a welcoming gift for you and congratulations for the Squad Leader.”

A gift? Eren's alpha preened at that and Eren smiled. “Thank you. It’s very nice.”

“Feel free to drop by anytime. I can see why you’re Levi’s _asula_ ,” she winked, and then with a wave of her wings in farewell, she bustled off towards a group of sprites who were gathered at one of the enclosed ovens, marks already lighting up in preparation.

“Besides,” Conny continued, drawing Eren's attention back to the smaller sprite. “Training in the dark has been really helpful. It makes night patrols easier now that we’re better at operating when it’s not bright out. Some sprites call us the Special Operations Squad because we’re some of the best at working during the night,” Conny beamed, obviously proud of this fact.

At his side, Moblit shuffled a bit, touching Eren's shoulder with his wing and Conny gasped when he saw the way the beta gestured that they should keep moving. “Oh, man, I’m sorry! Were you two busy?”

“Not at all,” Eren reassured him. “Moblit was just showing me around. Erwin asked him to give me a tour of Rose and we stopped here because I was starving.”

“Gotcha,” Conny said, bobbing his head. “Well, don’t let me keep you.” He looked around a bit furtively, then reached under the counter and drew out some soft, spongy-looking cakes. He gestured at Eren to open the box. “These were supposed to be saved for tonight, but we had a few extras. I think Sasha was hoarding them, but you and Levi can have them.” He laughed. “I’m sure she’s already eaten a few, and you two would probably appreciate them more, anyway.”

Eren was oddly touched and he unlatched the box. Connie carefully slid them in and flicked his wings, waving off Eren's thanks as he closed the food box back up. “It’s the least we can do for the Squad Leader. Hey, Moblit,” he said, addressing the beta, “make sure you show Eren the bathing hollows.”

“Bathing hollows?” A bath did sound nice right about now, Eren thought. He hadn’t bathed since he was human, and even then, it had just been quick scrubs in the river they’d been following.

“Not only are the ones in Rose really nice, it’s where Levi spends a lot of his free time,” Conny explained. “Might as well show you where they are, since Levi’s going to be dragging you there pretty often.”

“You got it, Conny,” Moblit nodded. “Take care.”

With a flick of his wings, Conny nodded and hustled away. He paused for a brief moment and shook his head when Sasha furtively shoved what looked like a bread roll in her mouth, calling the omega’s name in exasperation as he did so.

Eren watched with some amusement before he turned back to Moblit. “Why did Sasha and Conny give us so many things?” he asked quietly, tucking the stuffed box of food safely under his arm, double-checking to make sure it was latched.

“It’s…” Moblit seemed to struggle for words for a moment. “It’s instinctual,” he finally settled on saying. “Hanji can explain it more, but we take care of our omegas, especially one that’s about to go into heat. They wanted to ensure he’s well-taken care of but didn’t want it to be obvious, so they disguised it as a welcoming gift.”

“That’s nice,” Eren said, a bit stunned. “Is everyone like this, or just omegas like Sasha?”

Moblit laughed. “It’s everyone. Like I said, Hanji can explain it to you better,” he said, gesturing at the ledge. “Shall we-” but then Moblit paused as his eyes scanned over the ledge and his face brightened.

“Oh, actually Eren, do you mind waiting a moment?” Moblit pulled a few small containers out of his pocket. “Hanji asked me to drop these off to Annie. She’s a Scout and her knuckles got a bit beat up during training yesterday. I see her over there, so I’m going to fly and give these to her.”

Eren nodded, taking another bite out of his pastry. It was amazing that he could eat as many of these as he wanted; in England, such treats were expensive and while his father was well-off, it was still not often he got to indulge. “Go ahead. If everyone is as friendly as Sasha and Conny were, then I’ll be fine.”

Moblit smiled. “They are definitely the norm, not the exception. I’ll be back in a hop.”

With that, Moblit was striding away, heading towards a blonde sprite with bright blue and bold black wings. Eren took the opportunity to enjoy his pastry, taking small bites as his eyes traveled around the cooking level, taking everything in.

Eren had so many more questions to ask as he took a look around, watching quietly as the sprites went about their work cheerfully. What did sprites do during the day if they weren’t training or working? How did they determine who did what? What were the marks on some sprites’ neck? What did the Scouts do for training?

These all raced through his mind and he made a mental note to remember to ask either Hanji, Moblit, or Levi after the omega woke up.

At the thought, his chest ached a bit and he looked in the direction of Levi’s hollow. He’d only been away from the omega for a short while, yet all he wanted to see Levi again. Part of it was his alpha; his instincts were on edge from leaving Levi alone for some reason. They were trying to get him to return, tugging him towards Levi and demanding that he rub his scent all over the dark-haired sprite once more.

The other part was just truly that he missed Levi; even though they’d just met, it felt strange to be here without the other sprite at his side.

He chewed contemplatively as he mused over his feelings, until suddenly, a couple of new scent reached his nose and he straightened. It was a pleasant combination of sweet and spicy that calmed his alpha even as set him on edge.

“Hello, there. You look a bit lost.”

Eren turned to see a small, blonde sprite looking up at him. His eyebrows raised.

She was even shorter than Levi and her features were small and pretty. They almost reminded Eren of a doll’s and while her skin was pale, it wasn’t nearly the shade of white that Levi’s was. Her facial markings weren’t on her cheeks, like many sprites’. Instead, hers was a semicircle arcing across her forehead with three vertical lines through it, with the center one reaching between her eyebrows.

“You’re the new alpha that was with Levi, aren’t you?” she asked, her voice high and clear as a bell.

Eren nodded, hoping Moblit would come back soon. Historia had a different air about her than Sasha did, and he wasn’t sure if he was comfortable enough in his knowledge of sprites to face one like this without help.

Whereas Sasha had been brightly welcoming, her manner laid-back and almost sibling-like, Historia seemed a bit more held back. Her smile and mannerisms were friendly, but there was an air about her that seemed a bit more cautious.

“I’m Historia Reiss, omega of the Skybound Reiss family and bondmate of Ymir,” Historia said, bowing her head just as Moblit had. She gestured at the tall, freckled woman behind her who was regarding Eren guardedly. “This is Ymir, Sunlight alpha of Rose commune and my bondmate.”

Historia tilted her head and sniffed a bit, eyes widening a bit. There were notes of sweet lavender and honey on this strange alpha, the same scent that had lingered in the air for hours and had everyone on edge. It intermingled pleasantly with the bright sunshine and salty ocean breeze that the alpha carried with him and it relaxed her a tiny bit. It bespoke of a content omega and protective alpha. “Is it true that Levi’s an omega?” Historia asked, waving her wings a bit as she stepped closer, ignoring the way Ymir stiffened behind her. “There’s been a few rumors, but only a few sprites were able to talk to Commander Smith before he took leave for the day.”

Another omega? Eren's eyes flicked back and – yeah, he should have known, because like Levi and Sasha, she had four wings. They were pale blue that became darker at the edges, with soft, almost golden yellow edging the wings and streaking out from the center.

Eren sniffed the air. Historia had a nice smell; it reminded him of vanilla and something tart, almost like raspberries. It wasn’t alluring like Levi’s, but it was a calming smell that soothed his alpha all the same. Ymir smelled of something muskier and harsher, almost like a mulled, spicy wine.

Taking a deep breath, Eren bowed his head. He could do this; Eren thought back to Moblit’s introduction, remembered the way this omega had introduced herself.

“I’m Eren, alpha of Rose commune, _asula_ of Levi Ackerman,” he said, hoping that he got the introduction right. Historia raised her brows when he failed to mention what race he was, but Eren thought leaving it out was for the best. They had their suspicions, but Eren had no desire to draw attention to himself. “Levi is an omega, you’re correct.”

Ymir was looking at him with an assessing, critical eye. He refused to shrink back and instead stood to his full height, wings flapping lightly a few times. Something about this alpha’s posture and scent put his own on edge and he couldn’t shake the need to make himself appear larger and stare Ymir down.

Historia’s eyebrows raised at the display and when she glanced back, she sighed in a long-suffering and lightly smacked Ymir on the shoulder. Immediately the spicy scent seemed to lessen and Eren no longer felt the want to flare his wings or bare his teeth and growl at Ymir, much to his relief.

“Be polite,” Historia chided, rolling her eyes at her alpha. She turned back to Eren, giving an apologetic smile. “Sorry, Ymir is still getting used to being around other sprites, especially in a community. She was a former _valus_.”

“So was I,” Eren laughed, relaxing back and flicking his wings closed. It was obvious that Historia was used to this type of behavior and the fact that the alpha didn’t seem hostile and had immediately calmed at the omega’s reprimand were a pretty good tell that Ymir was all bark and no true bite. In a gesture of peace, Eren shot a smile at Ymir. “I completely understand.”

“You were a _valus_ too, huh?” Ymir drawled, her voice actually a pleasant tenor and somewhat smoky. “Where all did you Wander to? Maybe we can swap stories.”

Fuck. Eren didn’t know anything about this area and right as he was about to make up some bullshit excuse, Moblit came back at that moment, tucking a few empty containers into his pocket. Eren could have groaned in relief.

“Oh, hello Historia, Ymir,” he said, nodding at both of them with a small smile and wave of his auburn wings. He patted his pockets, making sure that everything was back in place before turning his full attention on them. “I hope you both are well today.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Historia said, looking at the two of them. Had they been doing something? “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Not at all,” Eren reassured her, noting that the omega’s sweet smell turned a bit sour with anxiety. God, these sprites were polite to a fault; Eren liked it but was quick to reassure her that the two of them weren’t impinging on his time. “I was just waiting for Moblit to return so he could finish giving me a tour of Rose.”

“Historia wanted to see what was so special about Levi’s alpha,” Ymir said, smirking a bit at Eren. “Always knew there was something off about that little guy.”

Eren's eyebrows rose and he bared his teeth slightly, annoyed at Ymir’s flippant attitude towards his omega. Ymir mirrored him and their scents rose, turning slightly bitter and smoky with irritation. Historia whirled, smacking Ymir again sharply as Moblit put a hand on Eren’s shoulder to calm him down.

“Ymir!” she cried and immediately the alpha stepped back, her face scrunching as Historia’s annoyance curdled her scent, turning the sweet vanilla sour. “ _Can_ you _not_?”

Moblit turned away, hiding a smile and but Eren didn’t bother to as the brunette alpha cowered under the scolding. His wings snapped back and he crossed his arms as Historia gave Ymir a tongue-lashing, reminding her sharply that it was rude to say such things about an omega and _really, Ymir, what would you do if someone said something like that about me, Levi’s our Squad Leader and it’s very disrespectful, don’t be a bitch_.

It helped calm him, knowing that he wasn’t in the wrong and Moblit’s lingering hand upon his shoulder helped to ground him.

When Historia turned back, she was still slightly irritated, as evidenced by her flicking wings and furrowed brows. However, as she lifted her head up to meet Eren’s eyes, she huffed a sigh and ran a hand over her hair, smoothing it down.

“Well, Ymir’s partially right,” Historia relented with a backwards glance towards the scolded alpha. “We omegas are… empathetic towards one another. Levi never had much of a scent, but what little he had always seemed… I guess the best word would be lonely,” she said, eyebrows drawing together. “I can smell him on you now, and there’s no trace of that. I just wanted to see what the alpha who made him smell so content is like. May I?” Historia held out her palm towards Eren, much like Erwin had.

Eren tilted his head, gauging the situation for a second, making sure this was the right thing. He saw Moblit nod out of the corner of his eye, gesturing him forwards.

So that was why she’d appeared so hesitant, Eren thought as he stepped forwards, holding his own palm up. She was nervous about approaching him for this.

Gently, he placed his palm over Historia’s heart and she did the same. Her palm was small and reminded him somewhat of Levi, though his were bigger and not nearly as feminine. Carefully, he bent forwards and touched his horns to Historia’s. The height different was extreme and he had to bend much further than he did with Levi.

As soon as their horns touched, they both gasped. The spark he felt was not as strong as he’d felt with Erwin, who was connected inherently to Rose or Levi, who was his _asula_ , but it was still there. For a brief moment in time, he caught a glimpse into who Historia was, and knew that she in turn could see him. Eren only hoped the omega liked what she could feel from him; Historia herself was brave and loyal, fiercely protective of Ymir and other omegas, something his alpha greatly liked. It had approved of Historia the moment Eren realized that she’d come here to check on Levi in a roundabout way.

Historia drew back and dropped her hand once she’d gotten a good feel for Eren and he mourned the loss of that spark of connection that seemed to faintly link all the sprites together. She stared at him for a few moments, eyes coolly assessing, but after a moment of consideration, Historia smiled brightly. Eren could practically smell the approval radiating from her, turning her sweet vanilla scent warm and welcoming, much like Erwin’s had. It made the tension drain from his body when she nodded at him decisively.

“I can see why Levi likes you,” she told him with a sense of satisfaction. “You’re strong, but won’t use that to suppress his own strength. You’re protective, but won’t coddle him. You are a good match for him.” Historia flicked her wings, tilting her head. “Your bond is already so strong, and you just met him a short while ago. That’s a good thing.”

“You can tell all that from a simple gesture?”

Historia smiled secretively, flicking her wings. “We omegas have more than one trick up our sleeves,” she stage-whispered, then stretched up to pat Eren's shoulder, rolling her eyes when Ymir’s wings flicked with annoyance and the spicy smell grew stronger. “I like you, Eren. You have the approval of the Skybound.”

“I… thank you,” Eren blinked, and Moblit, who Eren suddenly realized had been slightly tensed up, relaxed back and seemed relieved. Odd. He made a note to ask about it once they were out of earshot.

“You were a _valus_ ; do you know much about courting?” Historia asked curiously, folding her arms. Her entire posture had relaxed and she was much more open and talkative now that she’d gotten a good look into the type of sprite Eren was. She truly did like what she’d seen; he cared about Levi a great deal, was fiercely protective of the omega and had a kind soul, even if she sensed that he could be overly emotional and passionate at times. There was something else too, a secret or something he was unwilling to talk about, but like Levi, not all of them had the best pasts and Historia could respect that.

Eren bit his lip, thinking about his reply before shaking his head. “Not really. I’ve been a Wanderer for most of my life. This is my first time courting another sprite,” he said, blending the truth and the lie. 

Historia nodded, a pensive look in her bright blueeyes. “Since you and Levi are _asulae_ , I don’t imagine your courtship is going to be very long.” She leaned forwards and much like Sasha, gave him a little sniff and then smiled. “Not very long at all. Usually when alphas court, they give gifts; useful items or things pleasing to the eye.” She gave a certain look at Ymir when she said the last bit and the alpha folded her arms and looked away, scoffing.

She mumbled something like, _you like the rocks I gave you_ and Eren had to bite back a laugh as Historia glared at the alpha before returning her attention back to Eren.

“Levi wears a charm on his horn, right?” she asked, an idea sparking to mind. Eren nodded and she smiled. “Since he appears to like wearing one, that would be an excellent gift to give him, in case he ever wants to change it out. Ymir is one of the better smiths here,” Historia told him, gesturing at the sulking alpha. “As a welcoming gift, I want to offer her services. Feel free to drop by our hollow at any time and we can talk about the design.”

Eren was stunned at the offer; when he’d turned to see Historia and the tall, lanky alpha, he hadn’t been expecting this. The continued kindness and generosity of the sprites kept surprising him and Eren’s inner alpha purred at the thought of giving Levi such a trinket. He liked the thought of Levi wearing a charm that Eren had gifted him, of seeing it dangling from his horn daily in a constant reminder that Levi was his.

“Do I get a say in this?” the alpha grumbled, folding her arms. She didn’t look too put out, however; she _was_ the best metalworker here and for Historia to say such a thing soothed her pride and made her want to puff up in pleasure.

Historia leveled a flat look at her alpha, knowing it was just a token resistance. Ymir was a contrary sprite who liked being feisty just for the sake of being so. “Not unless you want to sleep outside the hollow for the next few nights.” She turned back to Eren and smiled, then bowed her head to Moblit. “Sorry for keeping you, we’ll let you get back to what you were doing. Good to meet you, Eren. I hope to see you again soon.”

With that, she hopped up into the air and took off, Ymir close behind her.

“I’m not quite sure I understand omegas,” Eren remarked, still a bit stunned by the entire interaction.

Moblit laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “They’re very intuitive. Their magic connects them to the world more strongly than the rest of us, and are very sensitive to the emotional state of other omegas. Levi’s scent that’s on you smells content and happy; it’s a good thing. They approve because they know you’re the one making him that way.”

“Was she right? Did Levi smell… lonely… before?”

“Not quite, but it’s a good approximation. The tea suppressed his dynamic and his scent, so he rarely smelled of anything. When I was able to catch his scent, he didn’t smell happy, but not upset either. If anything, it was a bit hollow.” He smiled gently at Eren. “He smells better now, and everyone who smells it on you knows that you’re the cause of it.”

“Huh,” Eren murmured, though his alpha was practically swelling in pride at the statement. “She said I have the approval of the Skybound. What does that mean?”

Moblit smiled, remembering his relief when Historia had basically imparted her blessing on Eren. “Historia Reiss is the daughter of the Head Alpha of the Sina Skybound community. Think of her as… sort of an emissary, I suppose. She’s well-known and respected here as a flight instructor for our fledglings, though she travels to other communities as well. Having her approval and respect is a very good thing, because the other sprites will accept and befriend you faster this way.”

Eren blew out a breath. There were still some intricacies to sprite culture he didn’t quite understand, but he supposed that would come with time as he integrated into Rose and settled into his new life. “We should we go before any other curious sprites sidetrack us.”

“Your introduction was perfect, by the way,” Moblit murmured as they strolled to the edge of the cooking level, waving to Sasha and a few others as they walked. “I was about to step in, but it wasn’t needed.”

“Oh, thank god,” Eren breathed. He’d been so nervous about messing it up and sparking more suspicions and questions. “I just kind of guessed what to say based on what you and Historia did. Luckily, Ymir was more interested in sizing me up, I think.”

“Mm, she’s still a bit feral,” Moblit said, taking a small bite of flaky pastry. “She joined the commune not too long ago and doesn’t talk too much. I think it made her pleased to find another _valus,_ though. I think she likes you more than she let on.”

“I honestly thought she was going to eat me alive,” Eren admitted, stopping when they reached the edge of the platform.

“Maybe just a bit. Posturing like that in front of another alpha is almost considered a challenge, but Ymir has always been a bit overprotective of Historia. Don’t worry about it too much.”

With a last bite, the two sprites finished off the pastries they’d been holding and then Moblit gestured out into the community. “Do you want me to take you to see Hanji or would you prefer to fly around a bit more first?”

Eren breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes. Hanji. I’m still not quite comfortable being around other sprites. Everyone seems welcoming and kind, but I keep worrying I’m going to slip up.”

“That’s understandable. Remember, you can fall back on being a _valus_ if anyone mentions it,” Moblit reminded him, much like Levi.

Levi. Eren frowned a bit, already missing the small sprite. Historia’s scent lingered in his nose, and while it wasn’t unpleasant, Eren still found himself missing the scent of lavender and honey. The sooner he saw Hanji, the sooner he could get back to the omega, however.

“I feel odd,” Eren remarked, rubbing at his chest absently and still wistfully thinking of the smell of lavender. “My alpha keeps wanting to go back to Levi but more than that, I _miss_ him.”

“That’s normal,” Moblit reassured him. “Levi’s in pre-heat and you’re courting him. Your alpha is picking up on his pheromones and wants to be close by in order to protect him and also to drive away any other potential suitors when he goes into heat.”

“I don’t understand what a lot of that means, but yeah, I’d say the urge to protect him and keep others away is pretty spot-on,” Eren said wryly, spreading his wings and flapping them a few times as Moblit stepped off the ledge and hovered, waiting for Eren to join him.

“As for missing him… well, you just discovered the person the universe made for you,” Moblit smiled as they turned and slowly started gliding away from the community tree. “It’s natural that you want to be close to him. There’s a developing bond between you two that gets stronger the more time you spend together. You missing him is just your soul disliking the fact that it’s separated from its other half.”

“Is it always going to be like this?” Eren asked. “Are we going to go through life missing each other the moment we’re not in each other’s sights?”

“To an extent,” Moblit told him, and then hastened to reassure the alpha when he looked shocked. “It’s strong right now because the bond is still forming. That ache you’re feeling will lessen over time, but only after you’ve sealed the bond.”

Eren sighed a bit as Moblit banked left and hurried to follow. He beat his wings a bit faster to catch up and when he was in earshot once more, he said, “I’m still confused about some things, but it’s starting to make a bit more sense.”

“It’s a lot to take in. This is all new to you, and admittedly, I’m not used to explaining these things.” Moblit’s tone was a bit apologetic. “Hanji usually does that. She’s the one who teaches fledglings about their dynamics and bonding both before and after presentation.”

“That’s why Levi wanted me to see her,” Eren realized as they both dipped down to avoid a few oddly-spiraling branches.

“That’s right. I’m sure Levi would have been able to explain certain things to you, but Hanji does this all the time; she definitely has a knack for it,” Moblit said, his voice turning a bit proud, “Levi sounds crude sometimes, but talking about this is bound to make him uncomfortable.”

Eren laughed at that; he hadn’t experienced much of that, but he could only imagine.

“That’s true. Which hollow is yours?” Eren said, glancing around. There was a myriad of hollows with some sort of cloth pulled over them. Some were a bit more sheer to allow light in and all of them were brightly colored; none looked like the dark, heavy fabric Levi used to block out the harsh sunlight.

“It’s one near the stream, so Hanji has easy access to the herbs she needs,” Moblit said, pointing down to the little bubbling brook that they were following. It wound through the trees and added a peaceful, constant ambiance to the background noises of the community.

Moblit led the way, occasionally pointing something of interest out to Eren. “I might as well tell you a little bit about this place, since I’m supposed to be your guide,” Moblit laughed.

Before too long, they were soaring up to a hollow in a larger tree that was situated right by the stream. Its roots were long and thick, dipping into the stream. The hollow had a mossy green curtain drawn over it and Eren could definitely tell it was Moblit’s and Hanji’s. The scent of herbs and medicines was already rising up to his nose and underneath, he could smell the telltale scents of two sprites.

Eren recognized the scent as Moblit’s slightly woodsy scent and Hanji’s more earthy one. He was starting to think that betas had a bit of a weaker scent; Historia, Ymir and Erwin’s scents had all been stronger and it was easy to pick out the unique notes in each one. It had been a bit harder to with the few betas Eren had met.

They dropped down onto the branch that twisted out from the entrance and Eren looked up, marveling at the size of it; twice as big as Levi’s, most likely. Moblit drew the curtain aside and gestured Eren in. “Welcome to our home, Eren.”

````

Hanji and Moblit’s hollow was much bigger than Levi’s, but Moblit explained that it was because Hanji was a healer and she did her work in here, rather than taking up a separate hollow. Like Levi’s, it had the nest-bed and a low table and numerous shelves. However, the shelves of their hollow were longer and wider, probably to hold the dizzying array and number of containers and tools for crushing, mixing, and brewing medicines and balms. There was another long shelf protruding out at about Hanji’s chest level that looked somewhat like a table and acted as a sort of workstation. Herbs were spread out on it, and there were metal drying racks on what free wall space there was.

Eren wrinkled his nose a bit as he stepped inside. Their hollow didn’t smell _bad_ , but there were so many strong herbal scents that it threatened to just about knock him on his ass. Moblit must have been able to tell what he was thinking, because he laughed and pulled a small container carved from some sort of stone from his pocket.

“The smell is a bit strong,” he apologized, holding out the container. “We’re used to it, but it can be overwhelming for those that aren’t. Rub some of this on your nose; it will help kill your sense of smell for a bit; long enough to talk to you about things, I would think.”

Gratefully, Eren took the container, opened it and sniffed. The balm was clean and had no scent. Shrugging, Eren scooped a tiny bit out and handed the little container back to the sprite, who stuffed it back into his pocket before he stepped out for a second to let out a couple of long trills. Eren rubbed it all over his nose and almost immediately, the overwhelming smell faded until his eyes weren’t threatening to water anymore.

“That helps,” Eren agreed with some relief. “Thanks.”

Moblit nodded and Hanji came flitting up to the hollow, dropping onto the branch. “Hi, Eren!” she beamed, recognizing the sprite immediately by his aqua wings and long turquoise horns. “Come in, come in! I’m just mixing up some medicines and teas, but I can talk while I work. I’m good at multitasking,” Hanji said brightly as she ushered Eren inside and over to a soft-looking cushion near the low table.

Moblit’s eyes widened at the words. “Hanji, the last time you did that, you started a fire in the hollow,” he said, throwing his hands up nervously. “We live in trees. It’s not good for them.”

“Oh, it got put out right away, Moblit,” Hanji said, waving away the suddenly nervous-looking sprite’s concerns. “Besides, I’m not working with fire today! Well, maybe just a little,” she amended, muttering the last bit to herself.

Moblit groaned. “ _Trees_ , Hanji. Fire and trees are a terrible idea and I’m not encouraging this, Hanji. Not at all.”

Eren had to hide a smile behind his wing. Poor Moblit; the sprite had been calm and level-headed when he was with Eren, but he seemed to turn into a bit of an anxious wreck around Hanji.

“So, Eren,” Hanji said, laying out the herbs and pulling down some tools from the shelves, “Erwin told me a little about why you came. Why don’t you tell me what you want to know first, what our little nocturnal trio told you?”

“Ah, anything about the dynamics,” Eren said, watching Hanji work. She was confident and methodical as she lined everything up and rearranged it into a sense of neat chaos. Moblit stayed nearby, watching her like a hawk. He occasionally handed her things or saved them when she turned and her wings brushed them off the worktable. “Levi’s told me a bit about scent marking and _asulae_ , but… I’ve just been dealing with things as they pop up.”

“Is that so? Well, how about I just start at the beginning,” she offered, and Eren nodded in gratitude.

Hanji was eccentric but extremely helpful in her own way and like Moblit had said, she explained things in a way that was easy for Eren to understand and didn’t make him feel embarrassed at all. She tended to get off track and Eren had to steer her back onto the topic at hand many times, but as she explained the biology and traits of the different dynamics to him, Eren felt much more secure in his understanding of his newly-changed body. The urges he’d been having regarding Levi started making much more sense, to Eren’s great relief.

But then Hanji started in on the explanation of omega biology and his thoughts slowed and crept to a halt as he listened.

Levi could get pregnant; well, bear an egg that would turn into a child.

It was part of the reason those of his dynamic were so carefully protected, along with their abilities to use magic. While betas and alpha females could bear children as well, only an omega could produce other omegas. Without them, the dynamic would die off completely, along with the races’ link to their magic.

Yet, despite this, the fertility rates of omegas were shockingly low. Their ability to procreate was not nearly as high as that of betas.

Moonglow sprites were already few in number, being one of the less commonly-found races of sprites. At one point, Hanji mentioned that something had happened in the distant past to lower their population and they still hadn’t fully recovered. As far as they knew, there were only a couple of other communities of them in the known world and even then, they were small.

Hanji seemed very reluctant to talk about it, and Eren didn’t want to pry. It was confusing to Eren, though - sprites seemed very reluctant to talk about the past in general, especially when it came to the Moonglow race.

As a worryingly rare Moonglow omega, Levi’s existence was considered precious. Suddenly, Levi’s words about being protected and coddled to near-insanity made perfect sense. They wouldn’t risk anything happening to one of the few omegas left of the moon-attuned race.

Because Levi was as good as bonded, the community held no sway over him anymore; they couldn’t interfere with a bonded omega for fear of angering their alpha. It was almost sickening to think of, but they deferred to the alpha when it came to any decision regarding the bonded omega.

A dizzying thought came to Eren; as Levi’s alpha and _asula_ , the burden of keeping Levi safe fell almost entirely on Eren's shoulders.

It was a heavy bombshell to drop onto Eren and his mouth felt parched, his voice hoarse when he asked, “As far as anyone knows, how many Moonglow omegas are left?”

“We know of three communities left and spread across those are 8 omegas, not including Levi,” Hanji said, voice almost somber as she frowned down at the mortar and pestle she was using to grind some herbs for a tea. “The Sunlight sprites have 35 spread across many communities and my Earthshatter kin have somewhere between 28-33 spread among a few less communities.”

The statistics were dismaying, and Eren felt his heart clench. “And there are… Is this area the only place where sprites live?”

Hanji sighed and reached up to rub at the base of her horns in thought. “For all we know, there could be other communities of sprites spread to places we haven’t discovered yet. The world is a vast place and while our reach is far, it isn’t infinite. But we don’t know for sure and we can’t take the chance of letting one race’s omegas die out. Some theorize that that’s what happened to the Tidalwave sprites, and why we don’t see them anymore.”

Eren thought of Levi, of Farlan and Isabel; he thought of the way their eyes glowed silver and wings shone with a certain luminescence in the moonlight, pictured the deep, glimmering colors of their wings and the curved, small black horns. He thought of what it would be like to never see such traits in a sprite race again and his throat closed up.

He couldn’t bear the thought of the Moonglow race going extinct. Of there never being anyone like Levi ever again.

A heavy hand settled on his shoulder and he looked up to see Hanji gazing down at him with a smile on her face, though it seemed somewhat sad. “I know it’s a scary thought and I didn’t mean to dampen the mood, but I needed you to know how precarious their situation really is.”

“I… even if you hadn’t told me that, it wouldn’t have changed anything,” Eren hissed, his anger rising at the notion that he was only going to protect Levi, keep him safe because the continuity of his race depended partly on him. “I… I love him,” Eren realized, blinking. His alpha purred in approval at the thought and then his voice grew more confident as he continued. “I love him and even before I was changed, I would have done anything in my power to protect him from any harm.”

“I know,” Hanji said softly, her scent going warm with approval at the words, “but it was something you needed to know. Levi is stubborn and independent; that’s never going to change, and I would be disappointed if you tried to change it. But I need you to realize that if something ever happens, if our community is ever threatened or lives are in danger, Levi’s safety will always take highest priority. As one of the last few Moonglow omegas that we know of and the only Startouched we’ve ever seen, we absolutely _cannot_ let anything happen to him.”

There was something in her eyes, a sort of solemnity and Eren realized with sudden clarity what she was trying to covey.

_Would you give your life for him?_

It was with absolute certainty that Eren knew he would. For his _asula,_ he would happily lay down his life, even if the loss would break Levi. As long as Levi survived, was in the world, Eren would be satisfied. Eren knew his alpha would never allow him to do anything less than protect Levi to the death and it murmured approval at the thought.

“I understand,” Eren whispered.

“Good,” Hanji nodded, squeezing his shoulder and then patting it. “ _Good_. I have faith in you, Eren. Erwin does, too. He approves of you, and considering how highly he regards Levi, that’s saying something.”

That was surprising, Eren thought with a small measure of surprise. He kind of figured that after Eren freaked out during the meeting, Erwin would disapprove on the basis of being too high-strung. But then again, alphas were very protective of their omegas, and Hanji had mentioned that Erwin, as Head Alpha, somewhat saw the community’s sprites as his children and wanted to keep them safe. It made sense, in a way.

“I doubt anything like what happened to Maria will ever happen again, but I want you to always be prepared.” She sighed deeply and then in a disconcerting change, Hanji perked up. Her moods could be a bit mercurial and even though Eren was getting used to the eccentric sprite, it still threw him off at times. “But that’s enough of that talk! It’s getting way too depressing in here! Has anyone told you about what to expect from our mating cycles yet?”

Desperately glad for the change of topic, Eren shook his head and braced himself for another slew of information being tossed at him. This time, the topic of discussion caused a slight pinkening of his cheeks, but Hanji was casual and almost clinical about it much to his relief.

It reminded him of his apprenticeship at his father’s clinic, when he sat in and listened to his father explain about puberty and intercourse to the embarrassed, blushing young men and women who came seeking information.

“This heat is going to be short, since it’s out of season for him to go into one,” Hanji explained, taking a wooden container from Moblit to pour the ground tea leaves into it. “It’s a good sign, though. It means he’s fully accepted you as his alpha and his body is ramping up to seal the bond between you.”

“Out of season?” Eren asked, wishing he had paid more attention during biology class in school. He was fairly sure that they’d talked about these things in class, but it had been a long time ago and his memory of them was fuzzy at best.

“Yes. We only have a mating cycle for two reasons; it’s either the spring mating season, or two sprites find their bondmate during another season and wish to bond,” Hanji said, ever patient as she capped the jar and handed it back to Moblit. He flew up to one of the higher shelves to place it safely out of the way. “During mating season, the heat cycle lasts about a week to ensure bonding and increase the chance for conception. A bonding heat out of season is much shorter. It lasts about a day; just long enough to ensure that a bond is sealed.”

“So it won’t be very long?” Eren asked with some relief. This was entirely new to him, and he was glad he wouldn’t have to go through a full mating cycle while not knowing what to expect. This one being short would at least give him some experience for the next one in the spring which would be much longer.

“No, it should pass very quickly,” Hanji reassured him. “No one will disturb you; an omega’s emotional state is very fragile during a heat. They become extremely vulnerable during this time. No one would think of coming near one during their heat, much less when their chosen alpha is with them.”

“Omegas are extremely valuable and respected members of a sprite community,” Moblit added, flitting down with a few more containers in his arms. “To act improperly in any way towards a cycling omega results in immediate exile.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Eren said in relief.

“Indeed. Taking an omega by force is punishable by death,” Hanji nodded, and Eren's eyes widened, though the thought pleased his alpha. “I haven’t heard of it occurring during my lifetime, because only the lowest of sprites would even think about it. Still, just in case, an omega chooses a bonded beta as a caretaker for their heat. It used to be for protection a long time ago, but the role has evolved a little bit.”

“It’s a good thing when an omega goes into heat, whether it be a mating or bonding cycle,” Moblit said as Hanji bustled over to an herb drying rack. She plucked a few bundles off, muttering to herself as she did so. “It means they’re well-fed, safe, and happy enough to want to bond or conceive. Because of this, the entire community pitches in to provide for the omega and make sure they have what they need. It’s an intense time for both alpha and omega, so when Levi’s heat starts, you’ll be devoting your entire time to taking care of him.”

“So, what does the community do?” Eren asked. His eyes traveled over to the box from Sasha and Connie that he’d set on the table when he’d sat and thought he had a pretty good idea of what it entailed.

“They bring gifts of food, water, bedding, clothes; whatever they think the omega would want or need during their heat,” Moblit said, uncapping the containers and setting them on the table while keeping one nervous eye on Hanji. “A long time ago, sprites would leave the gifts outside the hollow where the caretaker was keeping watch, but we try to give them more privacy nowadays.”

“I’ve stepped up as Levi’s caretaker,” Hanji said, and Eren was relieved at that. He liked Hanji and trusted her already. “Since I’m bonded as well as a beta, both of your pheromones won’t affect me very much. The community will leave their gifts with me and I’ll periodically bring them to Levi’s hollow and leave them outside. It eases the cycle for both of you, so you don’t have to worry about leaving Levi to get him anything. I’ll also be close by outside along with a couple of other bonded betas keeping watch, but I’m the only one who will be getting close to the hollow. Us being there is more to make sure no one gets too close and that you have privacy anyway.”

“Here, Hanji,” Moblit said, holding out a smaller container as Hanji started looking around. “This is the container we keep the medicinal balm for Levi’s leg in,” he told Eren. “It has a myriad of purposes, but this one reduces swelling, prevents infection, and also numbs the area.”

“It’s also good to put on bonding bites,” Hanji said, seeing where Moblit was leading the conversation. She’d almost forgotten the most important part.

Eren's eyebrows raised at that. Bites?

“Bonding bites heal faster than normal wounds, but can’t be healed with magic. The chance of infection is low, because you’ll be licking it to clean it, but this just ensures that the bites heal well. It also helps to ease the soreness that comes from being bitten so deeply in such a sensitive place.”

Eren couldn’t help his disgusted look. That was unsanitary and as a doctor’s son, he knew that if human saliva entered the bloodstream it could cause a serious infection. Eren would know – he’d seen it before, if only once or twice.

But then again, sprites weren’t humans, Eren realized. There were already a dizzying amount of difference between humans and sprites, so maybe this was just another one.

Hanji caught his look. “I don’t know how human saliva worked, but our saliva has mild healing and disinfecting properties,” the healer told him. “So it’s perfectly sanitary and even encouraged to lick our wounds. However, if you’re ever seriously injured, it’s best to go to a healer so we can figure out what’s wrong and prepare the wound to be healed by an omega.”

That was strange, Eren thought, but he filed away the information for later. He paid careful attention when Hanji started telling him the details of the bonding procedure, as Eren knew that he and Levi would soon be going through this process. He wanted to be sure he did it right.

“In order to seal the bond between alpha and omega, you need to pierce the through the skin and puncture the cartilage of both scent glands on the neck while tied together. It doesn’t hurt, don’t worry,” Hanji said hastily, seeing Eren's disturbed expression. “Believe me when I say that,” she reassured him. Stepping forwards, she pulled the collar of her shirt to one side and bent over to show Eren one of her bonding marks.

Eren leaned in for a closer look and to his surprise, there was a faint, silvery scar over the scent gland that looked like teeth marks. Etched over the scar was a mark that looked exactly like the ones on Moblit’s face.

“After the bond is complete, Levi’s facial markings will appear over your gland and yours will appear on his,” Hanji told him, gesturing to the marks and straightening back up. “It’s a way of recognizing who is bonded to who and shows the mutual ownership of both parties involved.”

Eren's thoughts went to Levi’s tear-like markings, imagining the slightly curved line slashing over his neck and his alpha shuddered pleasantly at the thought. His inner dynamic liked the thought of Levi biting him, marking him as belonging to the starry-winged omega just as much as it liked the thought of Eren's own facial markings etched in bold black on that pale skin.

“Like the thought, do you?” Hanji grinned, winking and earning a scandalized noise from Moblit. “I can only imagine; as _asulae_ , your bond is much stronger than normal, so it makes sense that your alpha likes the thought, especially when the bond isn’t solidified yet and you’re in the stage of pre-rut.”

“Rut…” Eren murmured, brows furrowing. He’d heard the term before when referring to animals in the wild, but much like a heat, he wasn’t quite sure what it was or what it would entail for him. “The term sounds familiar, but I don’t know what it means.”

“It’s nothing bad, sweetie,” Hanji reassured him, and Moblit nodded. “In fact, while ruts can be annoying and downright frustrating, they’re much milder than what omegas go through in their heats.”

The thought made him relax a bit and he listened patiently as Hanji explained what it entailed; heightened libido, a sense of higher aggression and possessiveness, and in rare cases, extreme mood swings. Eren certainly wasn’t looking forwards to it, but he found himself relaxing as he identified some of his thoughts and behaviors as coming from being in this pre-rut that the healer was talking about. Didn’t seem like it would be too bad.

His sense of ease persisted until Hanji’s chattering switched over and started to zero in on omegas and heats – and in particular, Levi.

“Levi’s told me he’s only gone through one heat before, and apparently it was traumatic enough to make him suppress them for all of his life,” Hanji said, grimacing. “He said he went through one at presentation; all betas do, but they’re usually mild. I thought it was odd, but figured it just hit him harder than normal. I guess him being an omega explains why, though.”

“Why are heats traumatic?” Eren asked, a bit apprehensive. “Are they… what happens?”

“An animal’s – and our heats are for procreation. Those of sprites are slightly different, however. Fertility spikes during this time, though omegas can fall pregnant at any other time as well, but it’s very rare. A heat is aptly descriptive – an omega’s body temperature will rise, inducing a feeling of near-unbearable heat that can only be eased by the proximity of an alpha. Libido goes through the roof, resulting in a constant state of arousal and refractory period lowers an extreme amount in male omegas.”

Aside from the body temperature, heats didn’t sound too bad. Eren would be there to help with the temperature this time, however. Hanji made it sound like it was just a week of omegas or betas pleasuring themselves.

Eren shrugged, voicing his thoughts. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Maybe not to us, but if you were to spend 5 days in a relentless state of arousal without being able to find relief, I’m sure you would change your tune,” Hanji said, scooping some paste into the jar for Levi’s balm. “It was bad enough that even Levi, an exceptionally strong-willed individual, swore off them for the entirety of his life.”

“Why can’t an omega get relief? Can’t they just, you know,” Eren made a vague gesture at his crotch, “get off?”

Hanji stared at him for a moment before she threw her head back and laughed raucously. Eren heard a muttered “ _Hanji!”_ from Moblit, and the man turned away, the tips of his ears red.

“Oh, oh no. If only. No, they can’t,” Hanji said, shaking her head, then looking back at him and wiping a tear away. “Omegas are unique in the fact that they have to be properly bonded and knotted before they can ah… achieve orgasm.”

And Eren felt his breath stop.

````

Because Nature was a cruel and ruthless bitch, it was a unique trait of omegas that they couldn’t actually have an orgasm until they’d been successfully knotted and mated. It was a way of encouraging them to find a mate and procreate.

In the one and only heat he’d ever had, Levi had tried unsuccessfully for hours to get himself off, only to grow frustrated almost to tears when he couldn’t tip over that edge and eventually given up. He’d spent the agonizingly long days of his heat a sweating, writhing mess, desire and burning arousal blazing through his veins, threatening to scorch his body from the inside out - all while being unable to find release.

It was that horrifying experience that made him start drinking the suppressive tea during the spring, which was mating season for all creatures, including sprites. Spring Courting was a large event and the unbonded sprites of various communities would gather at a larger spring retreat, used once a year. Watched over and guided by elders, they would search for potential mates and begin a month-long process of courting.

Those that had no desire to do so or who found no compatible mate were allowed to drink the tea and withdraw their eligibility from the festivities. However, they were required to remain at the retreat and help with the preparations for the festivities and events that took place.

The thought of sharing his heat wasn’t a strong enough pull to have him wanting the first alpha that didn’t completely repulse him. So while other sprites were spending the month courting and eventually going through their mating cycles and bonding, Levi did not. He spent it lying low, dutifully drinking his tea and steadfastly avoiding the use of magic that would cancel out the effects of the herbs’ potent ability to suppress his dynamic, dampening his scent and preventing his heat. He’d never once put himself forwards as eligible, accepting the tea the moment he arrived at the retreat and assisting the elders quietly.

With his sex drive completely shut down and effectively neutered, Levi had never given much thought to sex or what it entailed, still somewhat traumatized from the experience of his first heat. He remembered the scorching heat of his body, the way he’d stroked and fucked his fingers in vain, almost sobbing with the need for a relief that never came.

But now…

With the effects of the tea nullified and Eren's magnetic presence constantly around, Levi found an unfamiliar want starting to rise within himself. There was a low-simmering heat starting to build within him whenever the alpha was nearby. He wanted to _know_ , to experience what it was like to find that relief he’d sought, to satisfy his curiosity and taste what had eluded him for so long.

While Eren was away at Hanji’s getting a crash course in biology, even the thought of what was to come in the future sent a warm, anticipatory heat curling through him.

Levi let out a hiss as his dick hardened, the soft, loose pants he wore becoming almost painfully tight. He rested his head against the cool wood of his hollow, letting out a breath as he rolled the overheated skin against the smooth, worn surface.

He’d just woken up, skin overheated and sensitive, images from the dream he’d just jerked awake from still flashing through his mind. Eren's scent lingered in the hollow, making his desire spike and he let out a croon as he inhaled the alpha’s heady, musky scent before growling in displeasure at Eren being gone.

God, he really hoped that the whole prophetic dreams thing was real, because fuck, he _wanted_.

His heat was coming soon; Levi could feel the promise of it simmering in his veins and lurking in the back of his mind like an ever-present cloud.

Focus; he had to focus. Needed to calm down before Eren returned.

They would be meeting with Erwin once more this evening, after Hanji had checked Eren over to determine if the change his body had undergone was complete, if there were any abnormalities or differences from that of a normal sprite.

Though, considering they had never seen a Tidalwave sprite before, in any of their lifetimes, it would be difficult to determine what abnormalities, if Eren possessed any, there would be because of his abrupt transformation from human to sprite or because his race wasn’t well-documented.

Sighing, Levi bumped his head gently against the wall a few times before pushing away and straightening. He gave a stretch, twisting his body this way and that, doing the same with his wings in order to take his mind off of Eren and divert blood away from his dick. Levi emptied his mind as he stretched, eventually dropping down to the ground and using the much-needed stretching as a form of active meditation.

Levi blew out a deep breath as he felt the tenseness bleed from his muscles and with a wince, rolled his shoulders a bit. He hadn’t realized how tight they had been, how much they’d been drawn up with anxiety. However, thoughts of Eren and made a quiet, self-comforting purr start up in his chest and Levi felt himself relax.

Erwin had proved himself to be a kind, honorable sprite and a good friend. He would keep the secrets that Levi had revealed, no doubt in Levi’s mind at that. He’d help them in any way he could and ensured the community of Rose would accept them with open arms. He and Eren were safe here.

Eren was okay and safe. They had a home here, friends that he wouldn’t have to leave. He didn’t have to hide as an omega anymore.

At that thought, Levi’s lips curled up in a small smile and he raised a hand. With little effort, the golden transparent phoenix that he was still known for from the Summer Gathering ages ago appeared in his palm.

It flapped its wings, testing them, and then launched off his hand to soar around the room. His marks lit up and the familiar, comforting feel of his innate illusion magic tingled through his body, wrapping around him like a caress. It felt good to use it like this again, to create something for pure pleasure and flex his abilities rather than simply reapplying his glamour every night.

The glittering phoenix circled back around and as it hovered in front of his face, Levi breathed lightly on it. It spread its wings, opened its beak in a silent cry and then silently burst into sparks of multicolored light that slowly fell to the ground in an incandescent shower. As the lights reached the ground and died out, Levi fell back, wings spreading along with the smile on his face.

Fuck.

He was free. His body felt lighter than it had in a long time and Levi’s mind shot forwards to the future, suddenly looking forwards to it more than he had ever before. He could participate in this year’s light show at the Summer Gathering, join the omegas and show himself to the other dynamics for the first time since Maria had been razed. He could show Eren what true Moon magic could do, show the new sprite all of their traditions and culture.

Levi could practically see the excited, wonderstruck expression on Eren's face now. Holding up his hand, a picture of Eren's face shimmered into view, his teal eyes alight with awe and a satisfied smile curling his face.

 _Yeah,_ Levi thought, taking it in for a second before flicking his fingers and letting the image ripple away, _it would look something like that._

And then there were the flight lessons Levi wanted to give Eren, show him to twist and spin through the air like Levi _knew_ he could. He wanted Eren to chase him under the light of the full moon, feel his blood pumping as he flitted near-invisibly through the branches with a growling Eren hunting him through the woods. Wanted to participate in Spring Courting during the season for the first time, to tease and rile Eren up through the myriad of parties and tests of skill the elders and non-participants designed.

It would be for nothing more than show as they’d no doubt already be bonded, but they’d be able to participate in the ceremony at the end that would recognize them as bonded _asulae_.

It was strange, Levi thought, to want these things he’d sneered at before so desperately. In the course of one night, his entire life had flipped on its head and he was left feeling slightly uneasy, an unsettled feeling sitting heavily in his chest. Levi felt suddenly restless, on edge. Though he took in a few deep breaths, nothing seemed to calm the anxiety that left his chest feeling uncomfortably tight and his skin ill-fitting.

In the past, he’d use _soul-casting_ , sprites’ form of meditating through magic to calm him down and reset his mental and emotional state. Before he’d found Eren, the opportunities to do so had been few and far between because it would completely burn through the suppressive effects of his tea. The last time Levi could remember doing it was at the end of the last season, and they were halfway through the winter now.

Too long, and he remembered Isabel’s words.

_Your magic feels weaker than it used to be._

Glancing outside, Levi considered. The time of day wasn’t the best for a Moonglow sprite to _soul-cast_. It would be better under the light of the moon, but the late afternoon rays of sunlight weren’t bright enough to completely distort his connection to his element.

Eren wouldn’t be back for a bit, so he would have enough time to _cast_ and come back to himself without risk of interruption and Eren jarring him out of it, since the alpha wouldn’t be aware of what he was doing. As long as he didn’t make it an overly long session, he should be fine.

Pulling himself up to a sitting position, he stretched his wings out before pushing them back and letting them hang comfortably, folding over his shoulders and draping over his knees in the classic pose he’d been taught long ago. In this position, his muscles felt no reflexive response to hold them up. Since they weren’t dangling limply, there was no pull against his skin to distract him.

The inky blackness threated with soft greys and silver reminded him of his newly awakened Touched abilities, and his thoughts ground to a halt.

He’d never used his Startouched magic before. Frowning lightly, he reached for his magic. The soft chill of the moon’s light came readily to him, but there was another faint presence, too. It was so soft that he barely felt it, but… it was there. The thought was intriguing to Levi. Since he was alone and without the presence of others pressing against his senses, it would be easier to follow that faint wisp of his connection to the stars.

Taking a deep breath, Levi folded his legs carefully and raised his arms, holding his palms face-up. It was a pose Levi was familiar with; when Moonglow omegas first learned how to create and conjure images, they used this pose, concentrating the magic of the Moon element in their palms to create an illusion.

 _This would probably be easier at night under the direct light from the stars,_ Levi thought wryly, cracking an eyelid to look at the first rays of the later afternoon streaming through.

Idly, he wondered how his and Eren's sleep schedules would eventually end up syncing. Moonglow sprites were, for the most part, entirely nocturnal, as they were most comfortable in the darkness and weak moonlight. The bright sunlight hurt their sensitive, pale eyes and their white skin burnt easily under the harsh rays.

But Eren didn’t seem to be nocturnal, if the golden, sunkissed skin was anything to go by.

Realizing his thoughts were wandering, Levi shook his head, already feeling the faint warmth pooling in his loins at the mere thought of his _asula_.

 _Focus_ , Levi chided himself, eyes slipping shut and shoulders squaring. _You’re a Moonglow omega and soon to be the Captain of the Rose Scouts. You’re acting like a newly-presented fledgling being courted for the first time._

With that, Levi pushed any thoughts of Eren away and cleared his mind. He cast out his magic, his awareness of the world around him spiking sharply as the elements rose to his call.

Levi could feel the heat from the fire in the cooking area warming his face, the fading sunlight spreading across his skin. Water from the stream underneath their community bubbled and whispered to him as it flowed. The air whistled in his lungs as he took deep, steady breaths and the wood of the hollow he called home was firm and grounding underneath him. 

But above all that, he felt the chill of the moon’s light wrapping around him like an embrace, though it was not as present as it would be if he’d soul-cast in the darkness of true night.

The elements called out to him and Levi kept expanding his senses out, falling deeper within himself with each breath he took and his attunement to the elements around him increasing as he lost himself within the _soul-cast._ He searched through the world and his own being, seeking out his connection to the stars.

It took some time, but as Levi combed through his core, he felt the faint link to the cold, eternal lights of the night once more.

_There!_

It was extremely weak after having lain dormant within him for so long, buried deep and untouched until now. But it was unmistakably there. With newfound purpose, Levi coaxed the link to life, feeling an icy chill settle in his body as it gained strength, fueled by his desire to reach out to the stars and establish the connection with them.

His face was smooth and expressionless, but inside he was concentrating deeply as his core flared, reaching up to travel past the moon. Seeking something specific, it finally brushed against the cold light of the stars that were just starting to appear in the sky. He could feel the way the stars thrummed in his core, seeking out his questing consciousness and welcoming the feel of the long-forgotten attunement slowly being struck back into existence.

It would take many more _soul-casts_ before his bond to them was strong enough to call upon as easily as he could his Moon magic, but Levi could feel the untapped potential there. The stars responded eagerly to his call, their power traveling back against the seeking tendrils of his being and thrumming within him.

Unconsciously, Levi gasped as the bond was renewed, surging to life. The power of the stars was eternal and possessed an unending strength that tingled through him. Their light was silvery white and cold as they shone down silently upon the world, and it reflected in their power.

As it infused him, settling heavily into his being, a thin layer of frost started coating Levi’s fingertips, creeping slowly upwards. The frost was not cold to him, and it went unnoticed as he lost himself, his body a tuning fork that he used to attune himself to the stars.

Unbeknownst to Levi, his markings had lit up and a soft, bright, silvery light had encompassed him, washing over the inside of his hollow and bathing it in the light of the stars. A low, resonating hum started to emit from Levi’s core as he strengthened his attunement to the cold lights of the night sky.

The light seemed to pulse lightly with each one of his heartbeats and an awestruck Eren and wondering Hanji watched from the doorway as the glow seemed to become stronger as time passed.

They’d finished up their discussion and an overheated, slightly flushed Eren had gone to take his leave, but Hanji had insisted on accompanying him in order to look over Levi’s leg. They’d flown over slowly, with Eren still getting used to his wings but feeling stronger each time he took off. They’d landed on the branch outside of Levi’s hollow and seen the bright light emanating through the cracks of the thick window and door coverings.

“I recognize that light,” Hanji had said quietly. “Levi’s _soul-casting_ ; meditating with magic. It’s hard to explain, but it wouldn’t be good if we broke him out of it. We can go in, but we have to be absolutely silent.”

“Can’t we just wait out here?” Eren had asked, a low growl coming to his lips at the thought of accidentally harming Levi. He didn’t know what would happen if they interrupted his _soul-casting_ , but considering it sounded like it had to do with his actual soul, Eren refused to take any chances.

“We could, but I think you’ll like it,” Hanji told him, understanding his reluctance; however, _soul-casting_ meditation was an integral part of sprite society and Hanji wanted to show it to Eren. It would be a good experience and would possibly help understand Levi and his magic a bit better. “It’s not uncommon for omegas to hold a gathering for group meditation when they _soul-cast_. We might not be able to use the magic, but we can feel it being emanated; it’s soothing in a way, as if you can feel the entire world and what magic feels like intimately.”

Despite himself, Eren was intrigued. He nodded his assent and slowly, they crept into the hollow. As Eren carefully and silently drew back the door covering, he was struck by the strong, mouthwatering smell of lavender and nightshade combined with thick, sweet honey. He knew that magic made an omega’s scent stronger, but this wasn’t just Levi using magic; this was his home, his hollow and Levi’s omega scent saturated every inch of it. It was stronger than it had been this morning, and it practically made Eren’s mouth water.

Eren firmly bit back the rumbling purr that threatened to burst forth from his chest at the lovely scent, refusing to make a single sound and risk disturbing Levi. Bracing himself, he held open the curtain and slipped inside, his alpha demanding he enter first and ensure everything was in order before allowing a stranger anywhere near his omega in pre-heat.

A quick scan of the room told him everything was okay, though he barely took in Levi’s glowing form. Eren’s first thought was of safety and when he determined it alright, he held the curtain aside a bit more to allow Hanji to silently slip in before replacing the heavy cloth across the entrance.

They stared at Levi for a few moments and Eren's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the omega. A glowing Levi was cross-legged on the floor and his palms were held out. A stronger light emanated from his hands, almost blinding in its intensity and Eren noticed the thin layer of frost that coated his fingers.

That was worrying, but a quick glance at Hanji and a soft, reassuring smile assuaged his worries.

Unlike the other times Levi had taken on that magical glow, this time his light had an almost icy, unfamiliar tint to it. He distantly wondered if it had to do with Levi only recently acknowledging he was Startouched.

Hanji motioned wordlessly for him to sit down, then did so herself. She sank to the ground gracefully in a practiced, familiar motion. Crossing her legs, she let her shoulders fall straight and relaxed, bowing her head slowly and resting her folded hands in her lap.

Eren saw that her eyes were closed and a serene, peaceful look had settled upon her strong, handsome face.

Eren had heard of meditation, but never done it before; he wasn’t sure what to do. Still, feeling the unearthly, resonating hum and undeniable, almost electric feel of magic in the air, a sort of _rightness_ settled within a place deep inside of him. As silently as Hanji, Eren lowered himself to the ground, holding his wings off the ground to prevent them from brushing over the woven rugs placed on the wooden floor and making noise. Hands placed on his knees, Eren made himself comfortable and relaxed his shoulders.

As he did so, the thrumming seemed to get louder in his mind, striking up somewhere deep inside of him.

Eren felt an icy tingling in his core, a strange thread pulling his consciousness up. When he closed his eyes, he felt as if his awareness of the world suddenly expanded. A heavy, yet not uncomfortable chill settled into his chest and Eren had to bite back a gasp at the unsettling feeling.

Quickly, he opened his eyes and the feeling lessened in intensity. It wasn’t _bad_ , but it was on an emotional and mental level he’d never experienced before, making him feel a tug in a place deep inside of him that he hadn’t been aware of until now.

Eren was more than willing to try it again, but at another time when he’d settled in more to his new life. He wasn’t quite ready for an experience that felt as if it would change his very soul, Eren thought.

Instead, he watched Levi silently, enjoying the soothing light and calming hum that resonated through the room and waited for Levi to end his meditation patiently.

It wouldn’t be long that Eren would have to wait.

Levi was still deep in his _soul-cast_ , but something tingled on the edges of his senses. He wasn’t sure if it was a noise or new scent. He could have easily brushed it aside and continued in his meditation, but he was starting to grow tired and knew from experience that establishing a new connection and strengthening an attunement were mentally and emotionally draining activities.

His focus was already fraying a bit, the influence of the other elements fringing on his senses. Levi knew it was wiser to withdraw slowly and naturally rather than pushing himself more and being snapped out of his meditation. As healthy and natural as soul-casting was, it could also be very dangerous. If an omega were to be interrupted while in the middle of it, they could go into a slight state of shock and lose their connection to the magic, or their link to the world could be lost and they’d descend into a comatose state, trapped within their own minds.

Both repercussions were only temporary and could be fixed, but it was a traumatic experience. Levi had seen it happen only once, but the haunted look in the omega’s eyes after she lost her magic for a half-day was not something he wanted to personally experience.

Slowly and methodically, Levi started withdrawing his consciousness from where he had cast it out, climbing back up from the depths of his core. It was further than he’d sunk in a long time, as _soul-casting_ had been difficult to find a place and time to do safely while still masquerading as a beta.

Nevertheless, Levi was careful as he withdrew from the world, his awareness coming back slowly.

Fresh from _soul-casting_ , his core faintly thrummed with the power of the moon and a new, icy feeling in his chest made him aware of his link to the stars. While still weak, it was _there_ , a new-found presence he’d never felt before. Nevertheless, it was part of him, and Levi welcomed it with an open mind. It would only be a matter of time before it was integrated into his being fully, as much a part of him as the moon.

He became aware of his slow, deep breaths and steady beating of his heart, the way his clothes felt against his skin and the magic that tingled pleasantly through his body and more insistently in his fingertips.

There were definitely two new scents in his hollow; the fresh ocean breeze that he recognized as Eren, and a more earthy, woodsy smell he knew to be Hanji’s.

They must have finished their little educational session and Hanji had come to look at his leg, Levi realized, taking a deep breath as the last little bit of him returned to himself.

The light filtering through his closed eyelids faded and Levi slowly opened his eyes as the remnants of his glow flickered out. It had been a successful, much-needed _soul-cast_ , if unplanned. It left Levi feeling languid and relaxed, more at ease than he’d been in longer than he could remember.

“The moon’s light has faded,” he murmured, using the closing statement of the Moonglow _soul-casting_ gathering.

It signaled that he’d ended the _soul-cast_ and was no longer at risk of being snapped out of his meditation. In such an informal gathering, he wasn’t required to use it, but the ritual was familiar to him. Eren would need to be taught about the practice soon and it would show the alpha what was required.

“We thank you for shining the pale light,” Hanji whispered softly, respectfully using the Moonglow’s answering closing to let Levi know she’d acknowledged he’d ended the cast. It was a bit strange to use their words, but not doing so would have dismissed Levi’s heritage and been considered shockingly rude.

They were more symbolic than anything, but the ritualistic words held a deep-seated meaning to the omegas that the other dynamics weren’t able to truly understand.

Perks of having an intimate relationship with the powers of the elements, one could suppose.

Her eyes popped open and she smiled brightly as she hopped to her feet, rolling out her shoulders. “It’s been awhile since I’ve participated in a _soul-cast,_ and that was the first Moonglow one. The moon feels different than the rest; icy, almost.” She gave a grin and mimicked a shiver.

“Even if it was one you weren’t invited to,” Levi said, tone dry as he opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder. “That wasn’t the moon, it was the stars, idiot. Couldn’t you tell?”

Hanji pouted a bit. “I’ve never felt the moon, but I’ve heard it’s cold. Can you blame me for mixing them up? Either way, that was fascinating. Thanks for letting us sit in!”

Levi raised an eyebrow. “It’s not like I had much choice. What are you doing here interrupting, anyway? Couldn’t you have just dropped Eren off?”

There was still a bit of light fading out of those shimmering silver eyes. He blinked slowly and then it was gone, but Eren knew it was lurking behind them, able to be called back at any second. In the fading daylight, Levi’s eyes were a pale grey, lacking the silvery sheen they held at night.

Eren still found them lovely; the color reminded him of a rainy sky.

God, how had he ensnared someone so captivating, so literally _magical_ to spend the rest of his life with? Eren still wasn’t sure this was some elaborate dream, but when he pinched himself, he wasn’t suddenly jerking awake in his bed.

“It’s fine,” Levi said upon seeing the way Hanji hesitated at his prickly words, “I really don’t care either way.” It appeared that she was unsure now, not knowing if she’d intruded upon something private and done something considered rude among his kind. Levi sighed, feeling a bit bad. He just enjoyed being contrary with Hanji, mostly because she ignored his barbs and jabs. “You were respectful and that’s all that matters, especially since you didn’t know. We consider it impolite to sit in unless invited or it’s a public meditation, though,” he told her.

“Ah, gotcha,” Hanji said, looking a bit sheepish. “In Earthshatter communities, anyone can sit in if they come across an omega _soul-casting_ , so I figured it was the same. I’m still learning all about you guys, even today,” she laughed.

Levi gave a noncommittal hum.

“Is there a reason you didn’t use the Startouched closing?” Hanji asked quietly, not wanting to pry too much into the omega’s reasoning and offend him somehow. Omegas were a bit reticent and touchy when it came to discussing their magic and _soul-casting_ , so Hanji didn’t want to overstep any bounds.

Levi gave nothing away in his face as he gazed at her levelly. “The chances of us being listened to are low, but I’d rather not risk it. No one besides a Startouched would use their respective closing, so it would raise questions if someone were to accidentally overhear,” he explained. “My Touch doesn’t null my connection to the moon; in the end, it comes down to personal preference. It’s a habit to use the Moonglow words.”

He felt a bit of a chill at his fingers and looked down, a bit of surprise flitting through his face at seeing the layer of frost starting to melt and leave his fingers slightly damp.

 _That’s a new one,_ he thought wryly, subtly wiping his hand on the leg of his pants before looking up. “You’re here to return Eren and look at my leg, right? Didn’t notice it as much before, but it hurts like a bitch, so I’d like to heal it and get it over with.”

“Yup, Eren told me that you hit it against a tree. Considering the way you got up, I’d say you twisted something. Go sit on the cushion and we’ll get your sock off to take a look,” she said, immediately falling back into her role as a healer.

Eren had remained silent, though Levi couldn’t detect any discernable emotion within his salty, breezy scent. He became bit worried he’d disturbed or scared Eren.

The former human had dealt with a lot of changes and new experiences. He was handling it surprisingly well, but Levi knew everyone had a breaking point. He wondered if the sight of him glowing and the overwhelming feel of magic in the air was too much for the sprite.

Levi turned his attention to Eren, who was looking at him with a strange expression on his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked, quirking a brow. He went over to a cushion near the low table and sat down, a sharp, jolting pain making him favor his left leg. It had gotten worse since last night, something he’d forgotten about in the excitement of the day. The numbing balm had fully worn off at some point during the _cast_ as well.

“I… that was… I’ve never experienced anything like that before,” Eren said, his voice quiet and a bit unsettled as Hanji dropped down on the floor next to Levi. She carefully started working the sock off, then began pushing his pant leg up. “What I felt… that was the moon?”

Levi winced as Hanji inadvertently pushed on his leg a little too hard and Eren's scent swelled up protectively at the sight.

“Calm down, I’m fine,” Levi sighed, adjusting a bit to help pull the fabric up, immensely glad he hadn’t put tighter pants on. When they finally got it pushed past his knee, he could see the cloth wrappings were starting to fray a bit and look dirty. Levi wrinkled his nose; he was in desperate need of a bath and made a note to go to the bath hollow immediately after this.

“It’s not the moon itself, but an elemental manifestation of it,” Levi said, watching with keen eyes as Hanji carefully unwrapped or sliced through the cloth bandages with a small, sharp medical knife.

Glancing up at Eren showed that the alpha looked confused at the explanation and Levi blew out a breath. He innately understood his magic and how it worked, but it was hard to put into words.

“It’s too complicated to explain,” Levi told him, shrugging. “For all intents and purposes, it is the moon, but at the same time, isn’t truly the moon. A big rock like that can’t be alive.”

“The omegas of my race would beg to differ,” Hanji interjected, giving his skin a light pinch in reprimand, satisfied when he hissed a bit at her in warning. Eren watched the two of them like a hawk, his alpha rumbling in displeasure at the sight of another sprite touching his _asula._

 _Hanji is a friend_ , he reminded himself, taking a deep breath. _She’s bonded and a beta. Hanji is not a threat._ Still, no matter what he said, Eren's fingers still itched to throw a blanket over Levi, to hide away the mouthwateringly muscled leg and the expanse of pale, smooth skin that covered it.

“What is _soul-casting_?” Eren asked as a way to distract himself as Hanji’s long, weathered fingers searched out the tendons and muscles in Levi’s leg with practiced ease. He set the wooden box down on Levi’s table and after a quick look around, located a small stack of plates tucked away neatly on a shelf.

His alpha thrummed in pleasure as Levi’s eyes locked onto the little box with food, eyes widening at the pastries as Eren carefully arranged them on the plate. He brought them over to Levi and smiled when the omega gave a quiet, short trill at the smell.

His instincts liked caring for Levi, were at their happiest when providing for the omega.

“Omegas use it to strengthen their magic and attunement to the elements. I wanted to see if I could feel the stars,” Levi explained, delicately picking up the first blackberry pastry and taking a neat bite. Eren gave a pleased rumble when Levi’s scent turned warm and satisfied as he started to devour the rest.

Eren remembered that Sasha said Levi would be hungry; hadn’t Hanji mentioned something about a glut phase, when omegas ate as much as they could for energy reserves since heats were very taxing on their bodies? Eren’s alpha was particularly pleased at watching Levi eat, happy to be able to provide for the omega.

Levi winced a bit when Hanji prodded at a particularly sore spot. “It’s also good for relaxation, and I was feeling a bit tense. I didn’t exactly plan it, but I feel better now.”

And he did. It was like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders, and Levi’s entire body felt loose and pliant. The anxiety was nowhere to be seen or felt and that was what made Levi realize how out of tune he’d gotten with the world and furthermore, his own magic.

Now that he didn’t have to hide his abilities or scent, he could at least get back onto a schedule and partake more often, at least. He took a bite of the cake – by the _Moon_ , Sasha was a goddess when it came to anything related to food – and remembered what Hanji had said about never sitting in on a Moonglow _cast_. Humming a bit in pleasure at the sweet, honeyed cake, he made a mental note to bring it up to Erwin. He’d led meditation sessions back in Maria; there was no reason why he couldn’t do it here, either.

“Well,” Hanji said, eyebrows raising as she took in the full extent of the bruising, “it’s pretty banged up but nothing is broken.” Her hand snaked over to Levi’s plate in an attempt to steal one of the desserts, but Levi smacked her hand away with a sharp flip of his wing. “What did you even _do?_ I know you’ve had some bad falls and landings, but you’ve never been this bad,” Hanji said, pouting when Levi glared at her and pulled the plate closer to him.

Eren bit his lip as Levi flicked his eyes over and then back to Hanji. With a small sigh, Levi jerked a thumb over at the sheepish alpha. “This big idiot decided to toss me when he was human after I dispelled the glamour. The magic burnt his hands.”

Normally, his magic didn’t get that hot, and he still didn’t know why it had affected Eren in such a way. Perhaps it was because he had been panicking and saw Eren as a foe, instinctively trying to protect Levi and get what it perceived as an attacker to leave. Magic was a strange thing; it was sentient yet not; he controlled it only because it wanted to be controlled. It was another facet of it that he couldn’t explain, much like how his magic came from the moon, yet not the actual moon.

“Okay,” Eren said, wings fluttering a bit in embarrassment as Hanji twisted her head to look at him, “in my defense, it was really, _really_ hot, okay? It was instinctive!”

“Exactly how big _were_ you, Eren?” Hanji asked excitedly.

“Ah,” Eren scratched the back of his head, trying to think as he retrieved Levi’s empty plate and set it aside to be washed. “A little over 6 feet.” At both sprites’ blank stares, Eren sighed, trying to remember how big his human body _had_ been. “The top of my head just about reached the first branches of the trees around here.”

It was strange; his memories of his human life were starting to go a bit fuzzy, almost like he had been a dream. He was so comfortable as a sprite, felt so natural as one that he didn’t think he could ever go back to being a human and not feel like his skin fit wrong.

Hanji let out a low whistle. “My, you _were_ a big boy. Tell me, what was it like to suddenly shrink so much?”

“By the Moon,” Levi hissed, knowing that if he let Hanji continue the questions, they’d be here until sun rose again. “He can tell you later.”

“Touchy, are we? That’d be the pre-heat aggressiveness kicking in,” Hanji said with a smirk. She patted Levi’s knee and rose to her feet, ignoring the slight yelp from the dark-haired sprite. “Welp, you can heal that up without a problem. Eren, remember what I told you,” she winked and then before Levi could growl at her, she whirled and launched out of the hollow, laughing.

“Fuck, I thought she’d never leave,” Levi sighed. With practiced ease, he called up his magic and set it to work healing his leg. Swiftly, the swelling abated and bruises faded away along with the pain. In moments, his leg bore no signs of his injury; it was all pale skin and dark black, trailing marks. Levi let out a pleased grunt as he bent it tentatively; it was still a bit stiff from not using it, but that would fade shortly. 

“Feel better?” Eren asked, watching him keenly.

“Yeah,” Levi sighed. Eren held out a hand and Levi allowed Eren to help him up. He tentatively put some weight on his leg and was pleased when it didn’t hurt at all. “Completely healed.” He glanced at Eren out of the corner of his eye and mentally turned to the next order of business.

“We both smell terrible. How do you feel about a bath?”

Eren blinked at the candid words and after giving himself a bit of a sniff, laughed quietly. “I’d love one,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5 might take me a day or so longer than the usual to post, just a heads' up. I've been aiming for posting every other day, but this one's gonna take me longer. It's written but I'm not super happy with it, so I'm probably gonna end up picking it apart and redoing a lot of it. I think it'll be worth the wait, tho. It's pretty spicy! I think. Eh, who knows. 
> 
> The chapter names are the opening statements for the opening/closing soul-casting rituals :) Idk, I thought it was neat but then again, I was also the one who couldn't figure out what to do for the chapter names so I spent like an hour writing them all out. I don't do poetry and this felt like poetry. 
> 
> I'm going to end up making the story 7 chapters instead of 6 because things got a bit carried away, whoops. 2 more chapters and then the last one is kind of an epilogue/tying up loose ends so it's a cute little package.
> 
> Feedback fuels my soul and prevents carpal tunnel, kiddos. <3


	5. The tide rises and cresting waves break the surface; we welcome the spray of salt on our skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I wanna blow you,” Eren whispered into his ear, following it up with a small lick to the delicate shell. “Bet you taste as good as you smell.”  
> The words jolted Levi out of his daze. Of all the things Eren could have said, that was definitely not what he was expecting. 
> 
> “Eren,” he sighed, “I…” 
> 
> _Can’t come until after you properly fuck me so that would be torture,_ is what Levi wanted to say, but looking at Eren's bright gold eyes…
> 
> Eren's musky, heady scent invaded every one of his senses, making him feel a bit dazed. Instead of telling Eren why this was a bad idea, the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “I’d rather suck yours instead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so… it’s 8 chapters now. I got a bit carried away and by the time I finished picking it apart, it was wayyyy too long, so I split it in half. So have a bit of smut, a lot of fluff and our bois being super affectionate with each other and having a good talk in the bathtub :)

The bath hollows were absolutely fascinating to Eren. They were grown into a group of trees set on the outskirts of the community, placed right near the stream that ran through it. The trees varied in size, with the smaller of them holding bathing hollows for anywhere between one to four sprites; the thicker, wider ones could fit larger groups and a few were also designed to be swimming pools.

Basins much like Levi’s nest-bed were carved into the floor and there were a few long shelves; these were a place to put bathing supplies and clothes. They also held a few stacks of community towels, and a little box for the used ones was set out of the way at the end of the shelf. Curtains were hung over the entrance of each hollow for privacy and to indicate if the hollow was being used or was available. Levi explained that the red meant it was in use and the sprite(s) inside desired privacy, whereas green meant the hollow was empty or the sprite didn’t mind sharing one of the empty basins, so company was welcome.

Levi explained how the hollows worked as he dropped down onto a branch on front of one housed in a smaller tree. “Rainwater is stored in a hollow space above and is heated through the wood by the sun during the day. We use levers to release it into basins inside the hollow to bathe, and then we lift a slat and it drains out of the entrance,” he said, pushing aside the curtain and gesturing Eren in.

“That’s brilliant,” he breathed, stepping inside. He was perpetually amazed by the ingenuity and creativeness of the little sprites. No running water or electricity or machinery, and yet they came up with elegant, simple solutions for just about everything.

Levi followed him in and with a quick flick of his wrist, flipped the curtain over so the red was shown to the outside, drawing it fully closed. As he did with Levi’s hollow, Eren had to take a moment to peer around the hollow and take it all in, eyes scanning over the pale brown, smooth wood. 

Daylight streamed in through a few windows at the very top of the hollow, bathing the inside in a warm, golden glow. There was a large, deep rectangular basin in the middle of the hollow, a bit deeper than the bathtubs Eren had used as a human and much longer and wider. It was off to the side, so there was plenty of room on the opposite side of the hollow to walk around and change. A shallow drain was carved into the floor and there was a lever on the wall next to the basin.

Levi had brought fresh clothes with him, along with a small box with soaps, a few jars, and cloths with him. As he set his clothes and the little caddy on a shelf and went to close the drainage slat, he scoffed. “The bath hollows at my old community were much larger than the ones here. Bet it’s nothing more than an animal hollow now, though,” he said, voice wistful and a bit melancholy.

“Still, this is absolutely amazing,” Eren said in amazement. He looked up, where there was no doubt water waiting to be used and a thought struck him. “What do you do in the winter, when the water is more likely to freeze than get warm?”

“We bathe more communally then, or we take turns with an omega standing by to heat the water for us,” Levi said behind him. Eren heard clothes rustling and as his eyes traveled over to the large basin, he froze at a sudden realization.

There was only one basin. Did that mean…

Slowly, he turned around to see Levi lying his clothes out on the shelf to prevent them from wrinkling. He was humming a bit as he felt the towels, rubbing them between his fingers. He was pleased when he discovered that these ones were new and still quite soft. As an omega, he had sensitive skin and couldn’t stand rough fabrics that chafed and dragged. It would only get worse as he neared his heat, and judging by the signs, Levi could tell he was quite close to it.

Satisfied with the bath preparations, Levi went over to the lever and pushed it. There was a sliding noise from above as the wooden slat keeping the water contained was lifted and water immediately came pouring from a spout in the wall. When the basin was filled about halfway, he let go and the water stopped once more.

Eren was still processing a bit when Levi reached up, intent on loosening the ties to his shirt. The sight made his thoughts stutter, brain freezing. He’d felt Levi’s body multiple times, but aside from his back, he’d never really _seen_ the omega.

“Uh, Levi,” he rasped, mouth suddenly dry at the thought of seeing all of Levi’s muscled body bare and on display. “We’re… are we bathing together or, I mean, I can turn around while you-”

“Eren, I don’t know what it was like before you came here, but sprites aren’t modest when it comes to nudity,” he said, pausing and quirking an eyebrow. “We frequently bathe and swim together, especially in the winter when heating the water is a tedious task for omegas.”

Eren looked like he was going to choke and a small thrill ran through Levi; the alpha looked like he didn’t know whether to faint or drool.

Maybe a bit of both.

Admittedly, he’d chosen a hollow with only one basin for precisely this reason; lust was still simmering lowly in his veins, an ever-constant reminder of his heat coming up. Flashes of the dream he’d had and he was rather eager to see Eren’s bronzed, large body up close and personal once again. Eren’s lovely teal eyes were bright and wide as they stared at him, a plump bottom lip caught between white teeth.

Levi had wanted to kiss Eren for the longest time; he thought about it each time he looked at Eren’s lips, He was tempted to lean forwards and press his lips against the pretty pink ones whenever he saw the alpha bite and lick them, but nervousness held him back.

During Spring Courting, Levi often overheard participating sprites talk about it. His curiosity couldn’t help but be piqued when he saw courting sprites talking furtively in hushed whispers, and he’d often listened with one ear when as they murmured to each other about such things. They spoke of exchanging kisses and light touches in darkened corners, about who was good and who drooled or bit too hard, who used too much tongue or wasn’t aggressive enough, and…

Fuck, Levi just didn’t want to be one of those bad kissers.

He didn’t want to disappoint the alpha. Levi wanted to be good at it for Eren, who looked like he’d be _excellent_ at it. Even as the thought made him a bit weak in the knees, it intimidated him. Levi was just waiting for the heat to finally bridge the gap, when arousal and need would burn away any uncertainties.

Eren’s scent was filling the hollow, an enticing mix of the ocean and sunshine with a hint of crisp pine, and Levi’s omega wanted nothing more than to be fully covered and wrapped up in it. Eren was just such a warm, magnetic presence, and it made him want to purr at knowing that the alpha wanted him just as much.

The thought gave him confidence, his omega egging him on in the wake of Eren’s scent spiking. Turning away to hide a smirk, Levi gestured at Eren, then to his shirt in a wordless command.

From the front, it looked like a normal, plain shirt with short sleeves and a modest, scooped neck. However, the back was open and secured at the top and bottom with two ties that didn’t interfere with his wings and made it easy to take on and off.

When Eren didn’t move, Levi gestured again, a bit more impatiently this time. “Come here and undo these for me. The knots tend to get a bit tight while I move around.”

Considering the new meaning he now was able to apply to the word ‘knot,’ Eren would eat his boot if there wasn’t an innuendo in there somewhere.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped forwards and reached out for the bottom tie; one was at the nape of Levi’s neck and the other was at the small of his back. Levi’s inky-black wings were smooth and felt extremely warm as they brushed along his sides, moving out of the way and waving a bit lazily

 _They must be absorbing the sunlight_ , Eren thought, enjoying their warmth and trying very hard not to focus on the toned expanse of Levi’s back, muscles shifting under smooth, pale skin in a tantalizing display.

Trying and ultimately failing.

Eren couldn’t help it; it in England, the young men he associated with were often more bookish or had no interest in more physical activities. It was rare to find someone with the type of body Eren enjoyed, and so this was the first time he’d been with someone as strong as Levi and looked it as well. His body was trim and fit in a way that Eren found extremely desirable.

He finished the bottom tie and instinctively went to trail a hand up Levi’s back in an affectionate gesture. Just as his fingertips were about to touch the skin, Eren stopped, a bit unsure. Levi’s back tensed and right as he was about to curse at himself for overstepping his bounds and draw away, Levi called his name.

“Eren,” Levi said quietly. His tone had taken on a bit of seriousness and Eren immediately stilled, afraid he’d done something to displease the sprite. Instead, as Levi turned his head to face him, he was met with soft grey eyes. “I know you talked to Hanji, so I imagine you know what will be happening during my heat.” Eren’s cheeks reddened at that and he was about to say something, but Levi continued. “Based on that and the things we’ve already done,” and now it was Levi’s turn to turn just the faintest hint of pink, “why do you seem so hesitant to touch me?”

It was an honest and open question; Eren felt no judgement or teasing in that statement and it made him relax enough to really think about his answer.

“I just… I know there’s the draw towards each other, but I don’t just want to take that as unspoken permission,” Eren said slowly. “I want to make sure it’s what you want. I… My father drilled consent into my head when I was growing up, and I just don’t want to take advantage. Just because my alpha keeps telling me to run my hands all over your body doesn’t mean I should,” Eren said, rushing the last words and going a bit red as Levi’s brows raised, his eyes widening ever so slightly

Oh fuck, had he messed up? Eren tended to ramble when he was feeling over-emotional and-

“Honestly, that’s the best answer you could have given.”

Eren’s eyes snapped open and he looked at Levi in confusion. There was a small smile tugging his lips up. “We hold things in high regard because we’re very tactile creatures, but our scents tend to linger on each other’s skin. We generally don’t touch unless we have permission,” he said with a little shrug, and yeah, okay, that made sense, Eren thought.

Even the mere implication that another alpha or beta could leave their scent on Levi made the hackles of Eren’s alpha raise in displeasure.

Levi turned back around, presenting his back to Eren once more. He gestured to the tie at the nape of his neck, spreading his wings out of the way.

“You can touch me all you want, Eren,” he murmured, tilting his head down a bit to expose the tied knot a bit more. Eren bit his lip at the sight of the exposed nape, fingers twitching with the desire to reach out and trail his fingers over it. “I like it. Your hands feel nice.”

And fuck if those softly-spoken words weren’t the best thing he’d ever heard.

Swallowing lightly at the open invitation, Eren reached out and placed the palm of a hand between Levi’s shoulderblades. Black wings waved once and Levi sighed, pressing back against his hand in response, silently urging Eren on. Encouraged now, he ran his hand over the bared expanse of Levi’s skin, teal eyes watching keenly when Levi shuddered a bit and made a low noise of assent in the back of his throat.

Levi’s skin was soft and smooth, muscles flexing under his back. It felt nice to touch Levi like this, and his alpha purred in contentment at the simple contact.

Levi was right in that sprites were tactile, Eren thought. And not necessarily in a sexual way. He remembered all the scent marking they’d done, how he’d run his hands along Levi’s wings while they preened, the gentle feel of Levi’s fingers combing his hair, how he instinctively reached out to rub his wrist over Levi’s neck in thanks, how a sleeping Levi had pressed against him, seeking more contact. 

Hanji had said something about their dynamics reaching out to one another for comfort and contact, how he and Levi, being _asulae_ , craved each other’s touch because their souls called to each other. Eren knew he couldn’t discount that, but there was a simple pleasure in how Levi’s skin felt under his hands, enjoyed the fact that the sprite liked it, delighted in the quiet noises the sprite made.

Even the simple touch was soothing and felt nice, making him feel calm and a bit dreamy. Warm lavender suffused the hollow and Levi hummed as Eren, unable to help himself, trailed a hand down Levi’s spine. A low rumble started up and Eren realized that he was purring, though he couldn’t be embarrassed by the sound when Levi gave a low hum.

“See?” Levi said quietly, his deep voice running pleasantly over Eren’s senses. “It’s nice.”

“Mmm,” Eren hummed in agreement, running his hands up Levi’s back. Content now, he finally went to undo the tie at Levi’s nape and stepped back once it came loose.

Levi turned around, a pleased look in his eyes. Eren watched as Levi finished shrugging off his shirt and –

Fuck, Levi was _gorgeous._

Hanji had mentioned that sprites had very little body hair, and it looked _good_ on the omega. His nipples were small and pink, the sudden brush of air against them making them harden delectably. Black, twining lines that Eren had gotten a glimpse of on his arms traveled up and ended by wrapping a few times around his upper bicep in a few elegant coils before they faded out. More of his marks trailed over his chest and stomach, following the contours of his body. They trailed along his hips and disappeared into his pants, which Eren was suddenly _very_ desperate to get off.

“Oi.” Levi flicked the tip of his nose in reprimand, but there was a glint in his eyes that looked decidedly satisfied. Eren blinked, coming back to himself as Levi shook his head and went to fold his shirt and put it on the shelf. “Get your clothes off and I’ll heat the water.”

Biting his lip, Eren reached around for his own ties, but paused. “Can’t you just dispel them?” Eren asked and the sprite tilted his head thoughtfully. “They are an illusion, right?”

“You’re right,” Levi said, calling up his magic. Light spread along his marks and Eren was entranced at the sight. He wanted to drag his tongue along each one of the glowing marks, trace every single one of them until their pattern was seared into his mind.

Levi flicked his fingers absently to dispel Eren's illusory shirt and the rest of his clothes, intent on spinning him new ones after the bath. He was turning to pour some heat into the water when Eren made a strange noise. 

“Uh…” Eren mumbled in confusion. As he turned back around, the omega was shocked to discover that Eren's clothes hadn’t faded away like any other of his illusions would have.

“What the…?” Levi whispered, brows furrowing as he stepped closer. Raising a hand, he smoothed it over Eren's chest, feeling the fabric to determine if it was somehow real or if it was truly just an illusion.

The feel of firm muscle was a secondary thought, an absent appreciation, because Levi was much more concerned with the fact that that shirt felt real in a way his other illusions had not.

 _Fuck._ Levi frowned, stepping even closer and flicking his wings a few times in agitation.

Could it be… Erwin had said the Startouched were able to make their illusions a reality. He’d been shocked at how firm and solid the clothes he’d spun for Eren last night had been; his illusions were _good_ , but not infallible. None were.

He hadn’t realized or thought about it at the time, but he should have known. His Startouched powers had recently been reawakened when he made Eren's clothes, of course it was possible that he’d tapped into them while attempting to use his Moon magic.

But he hadn’t _felt_ the Star magic last night; his _soul-casting_ had been the first true contact he’d had with the stars.

“These look and feel extremely real,” he said, unsheathing a claw to pluck at the fabric and test the give of it. Levi closed his eyes and leaned in a bit closer, wings waving in thought as he concentrated, reaching out his senses to see if he could detect the slightest hint of magic. There was the faintest trace, which made him frown. “Somehow, I must have entangled my Star magic and Moon magic last night when I made you those clothes,” he murmured. This was an _extremely_ strong illusion, to the point where he couldn’t simply dispel it. “I thought something was off…”

Above him, Eren made a strange sound in the back of his throat. “Levi… can you, I don’t know, either… put your shirt back on or uh, step away?”

“Hm?” Levi looked up absently, still deep in thought. He stilled when he saw Eren's eyes were starting to edge a bit into gold. “Hey, you alright?” Levi asked, looking a bit closer. What had gotten Eren so worked up?

“I’m fine,” Eren said, voice a bit strained. His fingers flexed and Levi’s gaze flicked down to see that Eren's claws were unsheathed, something sprites’ claws only did when scared, angry or –

Oh. Levi swallowed once as he discreetly scented the air, smelling the way Eren's normally calming ocean breeze scent had turned into something darker, muskier and more alluring with lust.

There was a tent in Eren's pants and Levi had to bite his lip to prevent the breathy, needy sound that his omega wanted to make from escaping. Ever since he’d woken up along in the hollow, heat had been simmering lowly in his veins and the arousal creeping through him was a sure sign his heat was close.

Eren's eyes darkened as Levi stared up at him, smelling the way the omega’s own scent swelled and morphed in lust.

He couldn’t help it; Levi was so close and smelled so good, his scent even sweeter in pre-heat. The light that was slowly fading from his marks made the omega look otherworldly and fey-like.

Levi’s fingers twitched, the flat, blunt nails running lightly over his chest and Eren’s eyes flashed gold at the sensation. He was helpless against the sudden urge to get as close to Levi and all that soft white skin and intoxicating scent as possible.

He let out a low growl and started to crowd Levi against the wall, prowling forwards and delighting when the other sprite started backing up without a fuss. His wings flattened against his back after they brushed against the wall and Eren wanted to purr at the sight.

Maybe it was the fact that they’d been in this position so many times without following through, or the way Levi smelled so fucking good in his pre-heat, but there was something about the omega in that moment that made him absolutely irresistible.

“Eren,” Levi murmured, breathing in Eren’s musky scent deeply. His back hit the wall and he lifted his head to look Eren in the eye. “Remember what I said? You can-”

The words made something in Eren snap and before Levi could react, Eren snatched Levi’s wrist and spun them around, pressing Levi’s chest against the wall. He plastered his front against Levi’s back, wrapping his fingers around a slim hip and palming it, enjoying the feel of taut flesh underneath his hand.

Levi made no move to resist; instead, he practically melted back against Eren, shifting until Eren's clothed length was pressing firmly against his ass.

Levi tilted his head to the side and Eren inhaled sharply at the sight. The soft, pale skin of his neck was starting to gloss over with scent-laden oils. Eren's jaw ached, tongue tingling at the thought of the taste.

Levi shifted a bit, curling the edges of his flattened wings to brush them against Eren's sides; it was a move designed to get Eren’s attention, confused at the alpha’s continued stillness. “Eren?” he asked, not moving his head so that his oil-laden scent glands were still on display. “What’s wrong?”

 _Nothing_ was wrong, Eren thought, eyes traveling along Levi’s broad shoulders, muscled arms, toned back. He just…

Eren shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts. He pressed his cock against Levi’s pert ass, enjoying the slight shiver and muted moan he got from Levi in response. As tempting as it was to just throw caution to the wind and fuck Levi right here…

Maybe Eren was overly sentimental, but he wanted their first time to be somewhere safe and comfortable. He wanted to have Levi in a place where he could take his time, take Levi apart bit by bit until he was shuddering and limp with pleasure. Even though their combined heat and ruts would probably make it more animalistic and rougher than he desired, Eren would be able to rein in enough control to make it a good, memorable first time.

But that was later; right now, Eren’s alpha was thrashing and howling within him. His body felt tense, entire skin stretched tight over his bones and he just…

Eren just needed _something_. Needed to feel Levi, to _taste_ him, and grinding his hard cock into Levi’s shapely little ass gave him a sudden idea. He shivered with anticipation at the thought, a sharp smile spreading over his face as his alpha rumbled in pleasure.

Levi’s head tilted back towards him, a grey eye peeking over his shoulder to gaze at Eren curiously. He didn’t know why Eren had suddenly went still, couldn’t get a read on what the alpha was feeling besides a sudden spike in his heady scent.

“Eren?” Levi asked again. There was no anger or annoyance in Levi’s deep voice, just curiosity and a healthy dose of arousal.

Eren purred as he pressed his hips forwards, rubbing his cock into the cleft of Levi’s ass, enjoying the friction of the cloth against the sensitive length. “I wanna blow you,” Eren whispered into his ear, following it up with a small lick to the delicate shell. “Bet you taste as good as you smell.”

The words jolted Levi out of his daze. Of all the things Eren could have said, that was definitely not what he was expecting. He bit his lips, suppressing a moan at the thought, but…

“Eren,” he sighed, “I…”

 _Can’t come until after you properly fuck me so that would be torture_ , is what Levi wanted to say, but looking at Eren's bright gold eyes…

With the way he was pressed against the wall, he could feel every line of Eren's hard body molded against his back. He could feel in detail every delicious inch of Eren's thick cock pressing between the cheeks of his ass, rubbing and grinding languidly as he waited patiently for Levi’s response.

Eren's musky, heady scent invaded every one of his senses, making him feel a bit dazed. Instead of telling Eren why this was a bad idea, the only thing that came out of his mouth was, “I’d rather suck yours instead.”

Eren froze behind him, obviously not expecting the words. It had been impulsively said on his part, but…

He may not have actually _had_ sex physically, but he knew exactly how it worked and what one did during it. The Moon knew sprites talked about it enough.

The way Eren's cock was rubbing against him made his mouth dry, made him want to see it, feel the heavy, hot weight of it on his tongue and experience what Eren tasted like. Levi’s scent spiked sharply at the thought, pure want singing through him. Levi knew Eren could practically _smell_ how much he wanted to suck his cock with the way his scent was broadcasting it.

With a small smile, Levi reached back and looped a leg around one of Eren's. In a swift movement, Levi pulled his leg, yanking Eren to the side and quickly flipping them. The alpha let out a soft grunt in surprise and then Levi was molding his body along Eren's, pressing them together as much as possible and seeking more of the delicious contact. Levi’s own cock was hard, and he let out a pleased sigh as he pushed his hips forward to grind his erection against Eren's firm thigh.

He pressed Eren firmly back against the wall and the alpha didn’t resist, still a bit stunned at how the situation had been flipped. Levi’s eyes went heavy-lidded as he spread his palms over Eren's chest, reveling in the feel of the firm, broad expanse. He let out a low purr and Eren answered with a wordless growl.

Levi’s scent had started to morph into one that was darker and more alluring than its usual lavender. Eren could just barely smell the faintest hint of sweet slick as the omega’s arousal flared. It made Eren's alpha absolutely ravenous.

“That good with you?” Levi murmured, quirking an eyebrow.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Eren groaned, letting the back of his head hit the wall, unable to tear his eyes away from heavy-lidded, sultry grey eyes. Levi was always gorgeous to him, but there was something so _good_ about Levi being so willing and _offering_ this that Eren was sure his dick was going to explode just from how badly he wanted it.

“Fuck, yes. _Levi_ ,” he gasped as Levi suddenly stood on his toes to lick a wide swath over Eren's neck, collecting some of the musky oils from his scent gland. Levi’s tongue was soft and warm, a teasing glimpse of what it would feel like on him, and Eren suddenly realized that he was in way over his head.

Levi was rubbing along him, grinding his body against Eren's, acting for all the world like he wanted to do nothing more than devour him.

It turned him on _so fucking much._

Levi just hummed in response, latching his mouth over a sensitive gland and giving a firm suck.

Eren moaned sharply, claws unsheathing, mind torn between separate desires. He wanted to grab Levi around his trim waist and pull him close, wanted to take hold of his shoulders and hair and push him onto his knees, wanted to flip them around again and pound the sprite senseless against the wall until he was crying out and incoherent.

The conflicting wants felt a bit insane and Eren was unsure of what was appropriate, of what he should do. Instead, he pressed his palms flat against the wall and dug his claws in to prevent himself from moving. Levi was nibbling at his neck, sharp canines nipping the sensitive skin there every now and then. A low, sultry rumbling was emanating from Levi’s throat – purring, Eren realized.

Taking a small sniff, Eren could detect the sweet scent of arousal and lust in the air, though there was a slight hint of something akin to nervousness as well. He remembered what Hanji had told him about an omega’s biology and he suddenly realized why Levi had flipped the situation.

Levi physically wouldn’t be able to get off from this, something he’d forgotten in the heat of the moment. A sharp spike of anxiety suddenly soured his scent, making Levi stop, going still as he sensed something was slightly off. He pulled back a bit, head tilting as his nose wrinkled and Eren couldn’t help but worry.

Had Levi only done this to prevent Eren from pushing the matter? Was this a distraction?

“Levi,” he gasped as the omega started sliding his palms down Eren's torso, playful and exploring as if to encourage the alpha to relax. He hummed in acknowledgement, fingers trailing along the sharp cut of Eren's hipbones and he had to hold back a groan. “I… you don’t need to-”

Levi pulled back just enough to give him a _look_ , wings flapping a few times. “I think you can smell that I want to,” Levi said drily, as if Eren was dumb for even asking.

And shit, maybe he was, because Levi seemed hot for it, his fingers plucking delicately yet insistently at the band of Eren's pants.

“Yes, but-”

Levi cut him off with a sharp nip to the neck. “I’ve never had a dick in my mouth before,” he mumbled, tugging harder at Eren's pants as if to mask his embarrassment. Eren groaned at the words; Levi’s deep voice made even the dry statement sound like sin. “Of course I’m a bit nervous. I don’t want to fuck it up,” he said, pulling back, looking at Eren critically before smirking, lips twitching upwards in a manner that was almost sly. “’Course, just means you’ll have to guide me, tell me how you want me to do it.”

Images of Levi on his knees with Eren coaching him through his first blowjob made him groan deeply. Eren squeezed his eyes shut, taking a few breaths to keep his howling instincts in check.

“Like that, do we?” Levi murmured, something dark and pleased glinting in his eyes before he slowly slid down to his knees in front of Eren. He held his breath, eyes wide as he gazed down at the omega who was leaning forwards to nose almost curiously at his straining erection.

“Fuck,” Eren said, voice strangled. God, he liked the thought too much, if anything. “You- you have no _idea_.”

“Mm, I have a pretty good idea,” Levi hummed, reaching up to undo the button of Eren's pants. He tugged them down enough for Eren's hard cock to finally spring loose. Levi eyed it assessingly, hot arousal starting to pool in his stomach.

Long, thick, and the same glorious bronzed as the rest of Eren's skin, it was enough to make Levi’s mouth water. He’d seen more than a few dicks in his long life; sprites weren’t shy and more than once he’d had to take communal baths. Though, Eren's was the only one he would ever call gorgeous, the only one he had the urge to swallow down and sett how it felt in his mouth.

Eren was already panting above him and he flicked his eyes up to see the alpha was watching him like a hawk, eyes flashing between alpha gold and burning teal. There was a red flush streaking across his cheekbones, and he had a plump bottom lip caught firmly between his teeth. His claws were sinking into the wood of the wall and judging by Eren's thick, aroused scent and the way every muscle of his large body was tense and trembling, it was taking all of his willpower to not just slam his cock into Levi’s mouth.

Considering this was his first time, Levi appreciated the restraint. But he couldn’t help but tease the alpha a bit.

“Well?” Levi said softly, letting his eyelids droop a bit more. He leaned forwards to breathe over the flushed, fat tip of Eren's cock, eyeing the bead of precum that had welled at the tip and enjoying the way it twitched. “I thought you were gonna tell me how to do this.”

Eren let out a strained noise and nodded, almost trance-like. Eren looked like he was about to combust from eagerness and it sent a delighted little shiver through Levi. It was a heady feeling, being the sole focus of such a hot stare, to be this desired and wanted. It made Levi more confident and assured in his actions, gave him the courage he needed to do this without shame.

“Yeah,” Eren rasped, claws digging into the wall a bit more He swallowed and Levi waited for him to gather his thoughts, enjoying the way Eren was starting to unravel and come undone. “I… lick it. The tip. I want you to taste me.”

A surge of arousal went through Levi at the heavy, domineering tone of Eren's voice. While he enjoyed being in control in every other aspect of his life, his omega writhed in pleasure at Eren's easily asserted dominance. It felt good to have Eren telling him what to do, taking control and he embraced his submissive side eagerly. Unable to resist Eren’s command, Levi gripped Eren's hips between his own clawed fingers and leaned in to run his tongue over the head of Eren's dick.

Eren let out a strangled gasp at the feel of the soft, wet tongue, barely resisting the urge to buck his hips and chase that feeling. Levi’s tongue collected the bead of precum and pulled back to lick his lips, thinking about the taste.

It was salty and a bit bitter, not exactly pleasant but knowing what it was and with the scent of Eren's arousal heavy in the air, Levi found himself wanting more. “Not bad,” he hummed, flicking his eyes up to look at a red-faced Eren. “You taste good.”

“Jesus fuck, you’re gonna kill me,” Eren rasped, eyes flashing gold as Levi leaned in to run his tongue over the tip once more, dipping underneath the head, curiously exploring and watching Eren's reactions.

Eren was open and honest in his pleasure, holding nothing back. It was easy for Levi to figure out exactly what he liked and Eren's panting and soft groans only served to egg him on.

“Take- take it into your mouth,” Eren rasped. “As much as you can.” He tore one hand free from the wall to place it gently on the top of Levi’s head. He was careful not to touch Levi’s horns as he threaded his fingers into the inky strands of Levi’s undercut, gently pulling his head closer. The flushed head brushed over Levi’s pink lips, smearing precum over them and making them shine with an enticing wetness.

Without resisting, Levi parted his lips in a silent invitation and Eren pushed his hips forward, moaning as he sank into the soft heat of Levi’s mouth.

Eren was pretty sure he’d actually been torn apart by that jaguar and gone to heaven.

It was sweet torture to hold his hips still and not fuck Levi’s pretty face, but he remembered the slight scent of apprehension that had soured the air before. It was completely gone now and didn’t want to do anything to bring it back. He wouldn’t ruin this experience for Levi.

He wanted the omega to enjoy this, to have a good time; Eren was more than able and willing to put his own pleasure aside to coach Levi through this and make it fun for both of them.

Levi’s tongue had come to life, running tentatively over the length partially buried in his mouth at first and then with more confidence, tonguing the spots that Eren liked best with more confidence.

“God- _fuck_ , you’re doing so good, Levi,” Eren groaned, not missing the way Levi shivered at the words. Levi liked being told he was good, liked the praise, Eren realized with a thrill. He was more than happy to indulge, because Levi _was_ good; was perfect and lovely and Eren was absolutely in love.

Levi tightened his lips around Eren's length slowly, as if testing his reaction and the alpha growled in encouragement. Tentatively, Levi slid his head back and then pushed forwards, giving a slow, testing bob of his mouth. Eren gasped at the warm friction, his hand tightening its grip on Levi’s hair. The omega’s eyes darted up, gauging the reaction and then did it again with more confidence this time and slowly built up a steady, slow pace.

It was all Eren could do to stand upright, legs trembling as heat started coiling within him. Levi’s inexperience was obvious in the tentative, questing movements of his tongue and mouth, but fuck if it wasn’t the absolute _best_ blowjob he’d ever had. Levi adjusted slowly, but there was a certain grace to everything he did, and he was quick to pick up on the things that Eren enjoyed. Levi’s scent was growing headier and Eren looked down to see that every so often, Levi’s hips gave a tiny buck, as if seeking friction.

It was obvious that he was enjoying this from the tiny, pleased noises he made in the back of his throat and the needy, pleasured expression on his face. That in itself was what absolutely wrecked Eren and his cock jerked a bit in Levi’s mouth. The omega paused, gave a small hum and then went back to bobbing his head, a bit faster this time.

“Can I fuck your mouth?” Eren rasped, eyes wide and mesmerized by the sight of his girth disappearing into that small mouth. Levi’s hazy grey eyes flicked up to his and a bit of nervousness bled into the dark, alluring scent.

He understood; Levi was small and Eren was not. His pretty red lips were already spread wide around Eren's girth and he’d been unable to fit a bit more than half of Eren's cock into his mouth before he’d had to stop upon fear of gagging or choking.

“I’ll be careful,” Eren said softly, eyes reassuring. His hand slid from Levi’s hair, skirting the horn to cup his face gently. Levi stared at him for a few moments, considering, before his eyes went heavy-lidded and he nodded once. Levi sat back on his knees a bit and opened his mouth a bit wider. The sight made Eren's cock twitch in eagerness.

“Good, Levi,” he purred, enjoying the way the omega’s entire body shivered at that. “Tap my hip if you need me to stop, and I promise I will.”

Levi’s eyes flicked back up to him; the amount of trust shimmering in the clear grey depths stunned him. He made a low noise that Eren took as assent and acknowledgement. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Eren moved his hand back up to Levi’s hair, tangling his fingers roughly in it and then slowly pushed his hips forwards, sheathing himself into Levi’s hot, slick mouth.

 _“Fuck!”_ Eren cried, throwing his head back as Levi’s tongue flicked up, stroking along the sensitive skin. His fingers trembled a bit at the effort of holding himself back, but the trust Levi had in him and his willingness to do this gave Eren nothing less than an steely grip over his control. Biting his lip, Eren withdrew and thrust forwards again. Levi made a low sound of enjoyment and Eren felt Levi’s thumbs rubbing encouragingly over his hips – _not tapping_ , Eren had to remind himself, every sense on high alert in case he needed to immediately stop.

Levi’s brows were furrowed in concentration, but aside from that his face was relaxed and serene. He looked calm and like he was enjoying this, so Eren breathed a sigh of relief and let himself go just a little bit.

Soon, he lost himself in the slick slide of his cock into the hot, wet cavern and pleasure started coiling quickly within his stomach, cock starting to twitch as he drew closer to release.

Until suddenly, there was a soft tap on his hip. Immediately, Eren froze and then withdrew hastily, upset that he’d hurt Levi. “ _Shit_ , fuck, Levi I’m so _sorr_ -”

“Harder.”

The rasped word made Eren still, shocked teal eyes looking down at Levi. There was an aroused, needy look on his face as he looked up at Eren. Lips red and shining with precum and saliva, grey eyes dark with want, Eren had never seen a more beautiful face.

“What?” Eren asked faintly, heart hammering in his chest. There was no way…

Levi’s eyes darkened more as he reached out to yank Eren's other hand free from where the claws had dug into the wall. He pulled it over and placed it on the back of his head. Reflexively, his claws sheathed and Eren gripped soft, ink-black strands in his fingers.

“Harder, Eren,” Levi said, voice hoarse, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You wanted to fuck my mouth, so do it. _C’mon_.”

And fuck, Eren was in _love_.

Licking his lips, Eren felt his lust spike, reaching an almost unbearable level. He gripped black strands tightly in his hands and jerked Levi’s head back to his dick. The omega moaned at the harsh treatment; eyelids fluttering shut. Eren's heart skipped a beat, because holy shit, Levi _enjoyed_ the roughness.

Eren had never been more turned on in his life.

It was a struggle to not just start fucking into that mouth right away, but Eren held onto his control with a steely grip.

“Tell me if it’s too much, yea?” Eren growled, making sure Levi was still on board with it.

Levi nodded once, claws digging into Eren's hips and then opened his mouth once more to envelop Eren's throbbing, sensitive cock in that heavenly mouth. Taking a deep breath, Eren decided to start off slow, to figure out how much Levi could actually take.

Eren thrust slowly between his parted lips and Levi immediately relaxed his jaw to take Eren in. The hard, hot length slid over his tongue and the feel of it sent desire spiraling through him. Eren was still gentle and slow, but he was obviously taking his enjoyment if the low snarls and moans were anything to go by. Levi closed his eyes, reveling in the tight grip on his hair and the way Eren used his mouth.

Fuck, Levi wanted to do this all the time.

“Shit, Levi,” Eren rasped and Levi cracked an eyelid to see Eren's slitted eyes watching him hungrily. “I’m- fuck, I’m close. You gonna swallow it all like a good omega, drink it down for me?”

Eren's voice was dark, pure sin as it washed over him and his omega shuddered in submission. He gave a short, aborted nod as Eren's cock pushed into his mouth over and over again. It swelled just a bit, starting to twitch and jerk. Eren's scent spiked, pheromones pouring out of him until with a last, short thrust, Eren slid his length into Levi’s mouth and froze, growling as he bowed over Levi and came.

Levi had mistimed it and accidentally let it slide further than he had before. His eyes widened as it hit the back of his throat gently, feeling Eren's cum fill his mouth and he reflexively swallowed around it, making the alpha moan and curse a bit louder.

He was expecting to gag, but nothing came. Eyebrows furrowed, Levi leaned in, taking a bit more of Eren's twitching length and the alpha gasped, hands tightening in his hair.

With a last jerk, Eren's length went still and immediately Levi could feel it soften. Gently, he tapped Eren's hip and with a sharp exhale, the alpha gently extricated his dick. As Levi pulled away, Eren slid to the floor. Levi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, tilting his head as he took in the sight of the alpha. Eren's face was red, eyes dazed and fixed firmly on Levi.

“Holy shit,” Eren whispered, looking stunned. “I’ve… wow.”

“Are you alright?” Levi asked, voice a bit raspy and raw after the abuse it had been through.

“I’m… I’ve never felt better, actually,” Eren laughed, scrubbing a hand over his face and looking at Levi warmly. “That was honestly the hardest I’ve ever come. Thank you.”

Levi hummed. His body was still tense and wound up with desperate arousal, but his omega was sated and content, pleased with itself. Eren looked boneless and liquid almost, his scent calm and contented as the last dregs of arousal swiftly dissipated.

He cleared his throat and decided he liked the lingering soreness from taking the entirety of Eren’s length. “You know,” Levi said slowly, brows furrowed in thought, “I think you could probably do it even harder next time.”

Next time. Levi had liked it enough that he wanted to do it again.

Eren let a dopey grin spread over his face before the rest of the words registered.

“Harder?” Eren said, eyebrows raising. “Why do you say that?”

“Because I think I’ve just discovered that I don’t have a gag reflex.”

Eren stared at Levi for a few long, silent moments before he let his head drop back and let out a long, defeated groan. “You’re _absolutely_ going to kill me.”

````

Once they had recovered and cleaned up the evidence of the mess, Levi finished undressing put their clothes on the shelf and turned to heat the water, calling up the Sun magic to his fingertips. He crouched and as the tips of his fingers glowed with warmth, he swirled them in the water. Heat spread from his hand and his brows drew together in concentration until the water was pleasantly hot.

Satisfied with the temperature, Levi turned to find Eren slipping out of the last of his clothes and eyeing the towels.

“We have a laundry rotation for the community chores as well,” Levi said. “These are specially for the bath hollow. That way we don’t have to worry about losing our own or cluttering up our homes with unnecessary things.”

Still a bit dazed, Eren hummed and pulled two towels out, setting them near their things in preparation. Levi took the opportunity to slide his own pants off, folding them and setting them with his shirt. He glanced at Eren out of the corner of his eye, gauging his mood.

Eren was relaxed, sated to the point that he was able to stare at Levi’s naked form without feeling the need to jump him and push him up against the wall again. He still _wanted_ to, but his alpha wasn’t howling at him to take the smaller sprite anymore, which was a relief.

But he could see that Levi was still tense and wound up a bit; his scent was slowly fading back into its usual warm lavender and honey smell, but there were still traces of that sweet, alluring smell that called to Eren's alpha on a primal level. He didn’t push to return the favor, however, knowing it would only make the omega feel awkward if he was forced to explain why.

Besides, Eren already knew and though it rankled him to be the only one of them to come, mentally, he vowed to more than return the favor as soon as possible.

Levi was glad that Eren didn’t push it, however. Whether he knew about Levi’s… condition… or could just smell that Levi didn’t want to talk about it didn’t matter to the omega. It was enough to see that Eren _wanted_ to, was yearning for it each time he looked at Levi and his eyes flicked down to his slowly softening length.

And Levi did want to, but… memories of his first heat and how utterly frustrating and torturous it had been to get so close but unable to come flashed through his mind and cooled his desire.

 _Soon,_ Levi told himself, taking a deep breath and gesturing to the deep basin for Eren to go ahead. His imminent heat was simmering just below his skin, ready to break very soon. And then…

Levi bit his lip as Eren bent and then squatted down to test the water’s temperature with one hand, swirling his fingers in it and making a pleased noise at the magic-warmed water. Eren's ass was firm and perfectly rounded, the well-defined flight and back muscles rippling to hold his wings aloft as he shifted to slide into the water.

But by the Moon, it was _hard_. Not just his dick, but it was hard to watch Eren without any clothes on. The former human was tall and his skin was a delectable sun-kissed bronze. His limbs were long and lithe, muscular but so much as to be disproportionate. The sharp cut of his ‘V’ and the ridges of his abs made Levi want to trail his fingers over them to see how they jumped and flexed at the touch.

There was a sated, pleased light in Eren's lovely teal eyes, a warm affection present in them whenever he looked at Levi. His long brown hair had gotten mussed, strands escaping from the bun to frame his face and gave him a boyish, tousled air.

“This feels nice,” Eren sighed and Levi could practically see the tension bleeding out of Eren's body.

 _Looks nice, too_ , Levi thought wistfully, before he shook his head and stepped forwards. He set the box of supplies by the basin and then nudged Eren with his foot. Eren turned his head and Levi gestured for him to scoot forwards.

A bright smile overtook Eren's face when he realized Levi was joining him. With a bit of sloshing, the water rippled as Eren shifted to give Levi enough space to slide in behind him. The alpha flattened his wings against his back and shoulders to give Levi enough room and not hit him in the face. With a pleased little sigh, the omega slipped into the water as well.

He stretched out his legs, bracketing Eren's with his own and immediately reached for the box, pulling out a circular bar of soft soap and a cloth. “This soap won’t strip the oils from our wings and dry them out,” Levi explained as he dipped it into the water to wet it and then started running it along Eren's wings, using the little cup to periodically pour more water over the shimmering aqua expanses.

“What’s it made of?” Eren asked, tilting his head back and enjoying the way Levi’s nimble fingers ran along his wings. The soap had a strange texture; it was more slippery than he remembered normal soap being and was almost soft and oily, like butter.

Levi hummed in thought, tracing along a vein of glistening emerald. Eren’s wings looked lovely in the late afternoon daylight and he took a moment to appreciate how they shone. “It’s like the soap we use for everyday use, but with more oils and fats to hydrate the skin. A small amount of lye, nectar, nut oils, and a hydrating butter we harvest from what we call a shea tree. Coconut oil is the prevalent oil, because we have a large supply of it and it works best on our wings.”

“You… Sprites are fascinating. You never cease to surprise me. This is all so different from anything I’m used to, but in the best way,” Eren breathed. “Rose is so beautiful in every way.”

“You went around the community with Moblit today, right?” Levi asked. “I was able to smell his scent outside the hollow and guessed that he either came to help or Hanji sent him. What did you think?”

“It was amazing,” Eren breathed, shivering a bit in delight as the smooth, soft soap ran over his wings, followed by the cloth. Levi was right; it didn’t hurt his skin at all, didn’t leave the sensitive, thin skin of his wings itchy or feeling dried out. In fact, it seemed that it not only left his wings feeling clean, but more hydrated than before. “I feel like it only sparked more questions, though. I want to know how everything here works.”

Levi hummed in acknowledgement. “Anything in particular?” Levi murmured, biting his lips as he watched water trickle down the broad plane of Eren's back.

“How is the work divided among the sprites? Do any of them have permanent jobs?”

“Erwin splits up the community into groups each week; randomly, so sprites can work with new people and foster deeper bonds and friendships. There are some sprites that are considered artisans- experts at their craft,” Levi explained. Eren flatted his wings to allow Levi to run the cloth over them, gently scrubbing as he did so. “They train and help those who are inexperienced at their chore assignment as well as take note of what work was completed for that week and what will need to be done the next. I suppose you could say they’re like the Squad or Section Leaders in the Scouts.”

“The Scouts…” Eren murmured, thinking of the sprites in white pants and brown jackets with harnesses strapped to their body. He winced at the thought of leaving Levi’s swords behind; he didn’t know how hard it would be to replace them. Eren felt a bit bad; he should have paid more attention and made sure Levi had them before they left. “What does training as a Scout entail?”

Levi hummed thoughtfully, thinking about the drills and exercises he put his own little squad through, what he’d done during his own training in Maria. “Some of it is more to stay in shape and prepared, but all is important in its own way,” Levi told Eren, tapping Eren’s shoulder to have him turn around. “We complete endurance, strength, agility, and speed training for both our bodies and wings. For example, we improve our agility and flexibility by setting up obstacle courses. We fly or run through them as swiftly as possible, and if any part – be it clothes, hair, skin, or wing – touches an obstacle, it’s considered a failed run and the sprite has to try again,” Levi said, his voice a bit light and fond as he thought of his little squad making their way through the notoriously hard training courses.

They always struggled at first but were able to make it through, a fact that Levi was constantly proud of. For the most part, Levi’s Section Leader left him to his own devices, seeing as the omega’s squad excelled whenever they Scouts were brought together to test and grade their skills. But not all of it was as simple as obstacle courses. The thought soured his tone as he watched Eren shift, water sloshing as Eren turned to face him. “We also train for combat, though it’s more to keep sharp.”

He turned away for a moment to grab a different soap, one a bit stronger to clean their skin. It was still gentle and smelled faintly of lemon and sandalwood, the two scents entwining together in a delightful twist.

Levi’s voice had gone a bit strange at the end, words sharp and as he settled back against the rim of the basin, Eren’s brows furrowed.

“Why is that?” he asked as Levi took ahold of his hand to start running the soap followed by the cloth along it. Levi’s touch was gentle, yet thorough as he washed Eren’s skin for a few moments in silence, gathering his thoughts.

“Sprites are, for the most part, peaceful and live together without conflict. It wasn’t always like that, but there hasn’t been a skirmish or fight between communities or races since I was a fledgling.”

“The races used to fight each other?” That didn’t make any sense; he remembered the easy camaraderie between Hanji Erwin, how easily Moblit had talked with Sasha, how quickly Isabel and Farlan accepted him.

Levi was silent for a moment before he sighed, a bit reluctant to continue with the conversation leading down this path. This was a topic that no one cared to talk about, but it was important for Eren to know. It would lead to a better understanding of his culture and in a way, it was a good time to discuss it with Eren. They were alone and relaxed, had all the time in the world to have a conversation about his people’s somewhat darkened history.

“Yes. Long ago, the Moonglow were considered the best assassins among all the races and it led to…” Levi paused, hand stilling on Eren’s arm as he searched for the right word and eventually settled on, “problems.”

“Moonglow can turn nearly invisible during the full moon, right?” Eren asked, brows drawing together. He barely noticed as Levi scooted closer and drew the cloth over his chest, scrubbing Eren’s skin gently. “That’s why; I can see that being very advantageous.”

“Yes.” Levi’s voice was soft and solemn. Eren somewhat regretted bringing the subject up, but at the same time, he was curious, wanted to know more. “Because of this, Moonglow assassins were in high demand, but we were also distrusted and could almost be considered hated. No one trusted a Moonglow, because they could be an assassin coming to take the life of a community’s Head Alpha or their bondmate. Eventually, groups of the other races banded together against the Moonglow and…” Levi sighed and shook his head. “It wasn’t a time any of us like to think of fondly.”

Eren fell silent at that, processing what Levi had told him as the omega finished washing his skin and set the cloth and soap aside for the moment. He took up the cup and motioned for Eren to lean over; when he did, he carefully poured some water over Eren’s hair, wetting it before taking up one of his wooden jars. It held a white soap laced with black streaks of charcoal; it was a gentle shampoo that helped to keep the hair clean and scalp revitalized. It smelled slightly of mint and Levi inhaled the crisp scent of it with pleasure; he scooped out a small bit and worked it into Eren’s hair gently with his fingertips. It changed into a soft lather and Levi unsheathed his claws to start scratching gently at Eren’s scalp, running the blunt tips over it and massaging the soap into his hair to work the dirt and oils loose.

Despite the rather depressing topic, there was a relaxed air in the room, and Eren purred a bit as Levi’s claws scratched gently at his scalp. They worked the lather through his long hair with practiced movements. Taking care of Eren like this comforted and soothed Levi’s omega, and it brought him a certain pride as Eren’s scent turned soft and content.

Levi replied with a low trill once he was sure Eren’s hair had been scrubbed enough and then grabbed the cup to rinse the suds from the long strands, careful not to let any get into Eren’s face or eyes.

Levi could practically feel Eren’s mind working, churning as he mulled this new information over, but it wasn’t until he tapped the alpha’s shoulder to indicate that he should straighten that Eren spoke.

“How can you be okay with the races and sprites who killed yours?” Eren asked quietly. It wasn’t quite anger that darkened his voice, but it was something similar. It was a feeling Levi was well acquainted with; he’d felt the same long ago. However, time and healing had made the emotion fizzle out until he was left with a sort of melancholy and sadness for the past.

“That’s exactly the kind of question that leads to more problems,” Levi chided, though his voice was gentle. He couldn’t fault Eren for the way he felt. “No, I’m not okay with it. I don’t think it was right. However, my race also killed and performed terrible deeds, and I am also not okay with it.” Eren’s head was tilted to the side and he was listening raptly to Levi’s deep, soothing voice. “Luckily, by the time I presented and reached adult status, the time for that was long past. All we could do was move on, heal, and let time mend the wounds. And it’s better that we not forget. Look at where we are, what we’re overcome. There is strength in what we’ve accomplished. If we forget how terrible it is to be divided, we risk it happening again.”

Levi reached for another jar; this time, it was a mixture somewhat like the liquid they used on their wings, though it lacked any oils and instead was made from tea leaves. It made their hair soft and dirt-resistant, hydrating the long strands and keeping them strong in the wake of being constantly blown about and tangled by the wind. Eren watched him curiously and obediently tilted his head down again as Levi poured a bit of it into his hair and combed it through. It would be best to leave it to sit until they rinsed off at the end of the bath; it worked best that way.

Once Eren sat up, the alpha combed his hair back from his face, rather liking the smooth feel of the tea leaf mixture and how soft it made his hair. “Turn around, and I’ll wash you as well,” Eren said, feeling absolutely pristine and clean in the wake of Levi’s careful attentions. He wanted desperately to return the favor, to show that he could care for the omega just as well.

Levi tilted his head, considering for a moment before nodding. He moved his wings out of the way as he turned around, careful not to give Eren a faceful of dripping wet skin and relaxed back as he saw Eren’s hand reach forwards to take the wing soap and cloth.

“Is… was the fighting in the past why omegas and other sprites travel around communities?” He asked, trickling water down Levi’s wings and making him shiver a bit at the strange feel. It had been a long time since he’d bathed with anyone like this, much less allowed anyone besides Isabel, Farlan, or his mother to wash his wings. “It served to foster trust and friendship, right?”

“Yes. Like I’ve said, you’re very intuitive,” Levi acknowledged. Eren started gently rubbing the soapy cloth along his wings and he relaxed back, enjoying the feel of the buttery soap. “We all signed a pact to end the fighting and animosity, to move on and strive for a better future. Sending omegas, valuable members of the community around areas that used to be teeming with enemies was a sign of trust and friendship. It took time, but eventually the rifts healed and… well, you’ve seen what we’re like now.”

Eren had; it was hard to imagine these creatures who lived together in harmony ever had taken up arms against one another. He stilled for a moment as something else came to mind, lowering his hand a bit in unconscious thought. Soap ran down Levi’s wings and he looked back to see Eren lost deeply in thought.

“…It’s been mentioned that the Moonglow race had a lower population to start with even before Maria was decimated,” Eren said slowly, things clicking together for him as he put the pieces of information together. “I… is this why?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Levi murmured, closing his eyes as Eren resumed washing his wings. Having four separate wings made the logistics of washing them by himself a bit tricky, so it felt fantastic to have someone else do this for him.

As Eren finished the top right one, Levi flipped it out of the way to allow him access to the thinner bottom one. “We Moonglow serve as a constant reminder of what could happen if we ever allowed fighting amongst our kind again. It was unnatural for us anyway. You’ve felt how we’re all connected, right?” Levi asked, sighing a bit as Eren very carefully ran the cloth in between his two wings; Eren now knew how sensitive that strip of skin and the scent gland were, so Levi appreciated the extreme care Eren showed it. “The spark you feel in your chest when you touch another sprite?”

Eren nodded, brows furrowed as he focused on his task, not wanting to scrub too hard and hurt Levi or make him uncomfortable. Levi hummed in encouragement when Eren dipped the cup into the water and rinsed the soap off, curling his wing back to allow Eren to reach the other side.

“We call that, for a lack of better term, the Paths; it leads us to one another, act as channels connecting all of our souls whether we are in the same community or not.” Levi barely suppressed a wince as he remembered what it was like to literally _feel_ the fading sparks of sprites, the sense of loss that followed. “It set our souls off-balance to harm each other; we could feel it whenever a spark was extinguished, a Path erased.”

“Can some of these Paths be stronger than others?” Eren asked, realization sparking to mind. He remembered how he’d felt the connection so much more with Levi than with Erwin and Historia, wondered at the meaning behind it. “The spark I felt with you was stronger than when I did it with Historia.”

Historia had asked to access Eren’s Path? It was uncommon that the Skybound omega did so and Levi was curious as to why. He wondered what Historia had felt from Eren and made a mental note to ask about it at some point. Historia’s acceptance was crucial to Eren integrating successfully into Rose and being welcomed when they visited any Skybound communities, though Levi couldn’t imagine anyone _not_ liking Eren.

“Yes. The more of an emotional connection you have with a sprite, the stronger the Path is and therefore your sense of the sprite,” Levi said, tilting his head back a bit and purring as Eren switched wings, moving onto his left ones. “You and I have a very strong connection already. It’s why we can sense each other, even though we’re not bonded. You’re still new to this, but with time and practice, you’ll be able to sense the general mindset of others around you.”

“I get the feeling sprites don’t have much privacy at all,” Eren said wryly, smoothing a hand over Levi’s wing, rubbing the soap in a bit. The omega shivered at the feel, wing twitching the slightest bit. “If everyone can smell and even sense how others are feeling, then not much is private, is it?”

“With time, you’ll learn to control your scent,” Levi reassured him. “You’ll be able to mask your emotions better through it and as for the Paths, you’d need a strong connection to someone in order to truly sense how they feel.”

That made Eren feel a bit better, but he was still a bit put out at the thought of his emotions being displayed so openly and easily able to be read.

“If we’re all connected through Paths, why do we not know if there are other sprites out there?” Eren rinsed off Levi’s top wing and waited patiently for the omega to shift it out of the way and bare his bottom one. The bottom ones were a slightly lighter black; it was harder to see in the sunlight, but in the dark, Levi’s bottom wings hinged on being more of a soft, misty grey as opposed to the ink-black of his top ones, though the secondary silvery color remained the same throughout all four of them.

“Unless you have a very strong Path to another sprite, they get harder to sense the further you are away from them,” Levi said quietly, enjoying the feel of the cloth as it dragged over his last wing. They hadn’t been dirty, but Levi relished in the feeling of them being freshly cleaned. It made them feel light and pristine; a sprites’ wings were their pride, and Levi had painstakingly kept his spotless and shiny even before he’d come out as an omega. “The place you’re from is across the ocean, right?”

Eren nodded. “Yeah. England is about a 2-week journey by boat, and they travel very fast.”

Levi didn’t know exactly how far away Eren’s former home was, but he compared it to how far away he could travel from the community in that length of time. “If you were to travel back and I remained here, you would always be able to sense me; not just because of the Path, but because we’re _asulae_. No matter how far we are from each other, our souls will always be linked,” he explained. “However, you’d lose the Paths of the other sprites long before you arrived in…England?”

Levi slightly mispronounced the foreign word, but Eren didn’t bother to correct him; the way he said it was just too cute. He refrained from telling Levi this, however, as it was sure to displease the sprite.

Didn’t change the fact that it was true, though.

He hid a smile as he rinsed off Levi’s wing and then swapped out the soft, buttery soap for the heavier one to use on skin. He rinsed the cloth and then applied the soap to Levi’s shoulders, scrubbing lightly with the cloth. Levi’s shoulders relaxed back and Eren gently kneaded his blue-tinted fingers into the muscle, resulting in a shocked, yet pleased purr from the omega. Eren could feel it vibrating through Levi’s body and was extremely pleased at the response.

Levi just seemed so sensitive, so receptive to every one of his touches and it thrilled Eren deeply. He pressed down a little harder just to see Levi’s shoulders bow under the contact, dark wings fluttering the tiniest bit in pleasure. He could feel the tension bleeding out of Levi’s muscles and he answered the purring with a low, pleased croon. It reminded him of earlier, when he’d turned Levi basically into putty just by massaging his back and Eren absolutely loved it.

“So unless we make contact with other sprites and create these Paths to them…” Eren said, keeping his voice soft in order to not disturb the relaxed, serene mood that had settled over the hollow, “we won’t be able to sense if there are any others?”

Levi nodded slightly and sighed as Eren’s fingers trailed down from his shoulders, soaping his back and lightly kneading the muscles there until the omega was loose and pliant underneath his touch.

Eren thought of the implications of that as he scooted closer to Levi, curling around the omega to reach his arms and chest. Their height different made this easy, and Eren knew he’d be able to reach the entirety of Levi’s body without the omega having to turn around.

Without knowing for sure if there were other Moonglow sprites in the world, they couldn’t take the chance that there were others and allow the race to die out. And in order to prevent that…

He and Levi would be expected to help the race carry on, to have children and produce more omegas.

 _Eight Moonglow omegas left, besides Levi. Eight others to carry on their link to their magic,_ Eren thought. The burden of keeping the magic alive fell to those nine sprites; a heavy weight to put on their shoulders. Without children, the magic would die; he and Levi would no doubt be encouraged to do so, especially with their ability to have those children being so low.

Even Hanji, in her own way, had encouraged it. Eren hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now as he thought about her words, an odd feeling raced through him.

_I bet you two are going to have such cute little chicks. I can just imagine them now, with black hair and your pretty eyes! So cute! Make sure to have a bunch of them, mmkay? I want to be an aunt!_

It sounded worse now, knowing that the sprites all expected the two of them to… to _breed_ , to say the least. Eren had always wanted to adopt a kid or two when he was established as a doctor, knowing he would never be able to father one. While Eren had been stunned at the thought of Levi, of a _man_ being able to bear children due to his unique biology, a small part of him had been thrilled, excited. One day, there could be, hopefully _would_ be, a child that was half-Eren flitting around; the thought had made his alpha purr each time he thought about it.

However, he knew nothing about Levi’s desires, if he even liked kids.

Eren took a deep breath, dipping his head down to rest close to Levi’s ear. He watched as the cloth ran over pale, marked skin, his eyes tracing the trailing, twisted black lines as he considered his next words carefully. When he spoke, his voice was soft and kept his hands gentle as he continued trailing them over Levi’s skin.

“Levi. I know that you carry the burden of continuing the Moonglow omegas, but…” Eren murmured slowly and Levi’s body went still and tense as he waited for Eren to finish. He could feel Levi holding his breath and Eren kept his voice affectionate and reassuring. He wanted Levi to feel comfortable with him, to never feel pressured to do anything he didn’t want. “I’m here for you. I care about you. You won’t be going through anything alone. If you choose to never have children, or for some reason _can’t_ , that won’t change how I feel about you. If you do want to have children, well,” Eren give a small smile, “I really like kids.”

Levi remained still for a few long, breathless seconds before he let out a long breath. He shifted and Eren gave him a bit of room to turn around. Eren was a bit glad; if they were going to have a conversation like this, he wanted to be able to see Levi’s face and determine what the sprite was thinking.

Levi lifted his foot and Eren let it rest on his knee, running the soap along his leg and listening intently as Levi finally spoke.

“Have you ever had any desire for a family?” Levi asked quietly. His wings shifted and he curled one around to brush over Eren’s arm softly. It was a silent thanks and Eren knew his words had been received well, something that made relief race through him.

Levi’s reaction made him think that the omega truly had no desire for children and for a brief second, Eren thought about lying to assuage his fears. However, in the end, he chose to be truthful. Lying about something like this would only lead to problems in the future. “Yeah. I’ve always thought that it would be nice to have kids after I settled down, but the chance of it was low.”

Levi gave him a questioning look, then his eyes darted down to Eren's groin for a moment. “You know, our healing magic-”

“What? No! I’m not,” Eren took a deep breath, trying to hold back a chuckle and shook his head. “No, it’s not that. Just… does you society have any concept of gayness? Homosexuality? Or is two men and two women considered normal here?”

Levi’s brows furrowed in thought and then he shook his head. “We don’t place much importance on sex. Our genders are what define us most. But I think I understand. We are driven by our instincts, our dynamics, and their prime directive is to uh, breed, I guess.” Eren nodded in understanding; when he took into account the urges of his alpha, it made sense. “Considering how strong the call of our instincts are, it’s a bit strange when there’s a pairing that won’t lead to children, but since any woman and male omega can have children, it’s rare to find that. I suppose the closest to what you’re talking about would be two male betas or two female omegas or betas.”

“But it’s not considered bad?” Eren pushed. He ran the cloth over Levi’s foot and then traveled to brush over the bottom; the sprite shivered a bit and his toes curled, brows twitching at the feel.

Levi was ticklish. Eren filed the thought away, intending to capitalize on it later. 

“Not at all,” Levi said, a bit confused at the thought and he pulled his foot away slightly when the sensation got to be too much. “We sprites live a long time. An eternity alone is no life to live. Overall, we value and cherish happiness.”

“Well… for humans it’s very different. Two men in human society is illegal. Looked down on. It’s considered abhorrent. I like men, but I had to hide what I was to avoid being cast out.”

Levi’s eyes widened and then his eyes narrowed. “That’s disgusting,” Levi hissed flatly, wings flicking in agitation and making the water ripple. “How did you survive being human?”

“By being very careful,” Eren chuckled, the light sound soothing some of the omega’s agitation. “Levi, considering everything I’ve told you… I want you to know I don’t miss being human,” Eren said, his voice quiet yet fervent as he looked directly into Levi’s grey eyes. “I love it here. You and everyone else have shown me kindness I’ve never experienced. It’s beautiful here. You’re beautiful and kind and fascinating and I don’t think I’ve ever been as enamored with someone so quickly. I was enchanted with you even as a human and I’m even more so now that I know you better.”

Levi’s eyes were wide, his body completely still as he processed Eren’s words, stunned. His omega writhed in pleasure at them, finding Eren a caring, worthy alpha, but Levi wasn’t sure how to respond. His lips parted, but he couldn’t find the right words for the moment.

Eren seemed to understand, because he simply smiled gently, not requiring any further words. “I know it’s a lot all at once, but I just wanted you to know, in case you ever started doubting anything about me, or how I feel.”

Done with washing Levi’s body, he reached over to grab the jar with the soap to wish Levi’s hair and the sprite, still silent, bent his head. Eren poured water over the inky-black strands and then poured a few drops of the soap onto his head. He wanted to use his claws as Levi had done, but he knew they were sharper than Levi’s and would only serve to hurt him. Instead, he settled for using the blunt tips of his fingernails to work the soap up into a heavy lather, rubbing over the shorter hairs of his undercut. The hairs weren’t bristly but instead smooth and sleek. As Eren went to run his hands up and focus on the longer hairs, he heard Levi speak quietly. 

“I like children.”

The words were so soft that Eren had to strain to hear, but as they processed, his heart soared. He listened intently as Levi mumbled something else, but he didn’t quite catch it.

“Hm?” Eren hummed, lightly scratching his fingers over Levi’s head, leaning down a bit to hear.

Levi blew out a long breath and shook his head. “I like children,” he repeated, and his voice dropped low and quiet as he continued, “I’ve always wanted some, but…”

“You dislike being thought of as breeding stock,” Eren finished, voicing Levi’s darkest, secretive worry.

“Yes.” The word was quiet and held a multitude of emotions. Eren rinsed Levi’s hair carefully and the sprite kept his head bent until Eren had carefully poured bit of the tea leaf mixture into his hair, massaging it into the shorter hairs and running his fingers through the longer strands. His alpha rumbled, mixed contentment from Levi allowing himself to be taken care of in this way along with his admission of wanting a family one day making both Eren and his alpha rumble in pleasure.

“I know that everyone is going to expect us to have children right away, but…” Levi sighed as he straightened up, pushing his hair out of his eyes. “We’re going to live a long time, Eren. The Startouched are practically immortal; we draw our lifespan from the stars. I want… I want to spend time with you. Getting to know you first, without worrying about children. Does that upset you?”

Levi’s soft, vulnerable words made his heart swell and Eren immediately shook his head, reaching out to run a finger over a long black line streaking across Levi’s hand. “No. I want what you want. I’m happy if you’re happy,” he said, voice caring and reassuring.

Levi blinked at him and then smacked him on the head. “Turn back around so I can rinse out your hair, idiot,” he scoffed, but Eren could tell that the omega was _very_ pleased. It seemed that Levi went back to being gruff and brusque when he was feeling strongly, and the thought of that made Eren’s heart swell, because it was just…cute.

Fuck it; Levi was cute, and nothing would ever dissuade him otherwise.

And then suddenly, the words ‘near-immortal’ and ‘live a long time’ really sunk in, along with some of the other things Levi had said. The way he talked about events that happened made him think Levi had lived longer than the 25-ish years he looked.

_We sprites live a long time. An eternity alone is no life to live_ _._

“Wait,” Eren said, slow realization dawning. “Wait, _wait._ ” Eren quickly turned around, his eyes wide. Levi had the cup of water poised to dump over the alpha’s hair, but he paused, quirking an eyebrow at Eren’s hasty words. “You said sprites live a long time, and being Startouched makes you near-immortal? Levi, how old _are_ you?”

Levi tilted his head, grey eyes thoughtful. “I’m…” he had to think for a moment, trying to keep count and remember the last time Isabel had mentioned their age. Levi barely bothered to keep track, but Isabel had a knack for remembering such things. “They start to blend together after awhile. I’ve experienced about 378 summers, give or take a few.”

Eren's eyes widened comically.

Levi was a tiny mythical being with wings who could use magic and was _nearly 400 years old_.

And he was Eren’s literal soulmate.

What the _fuck_ was his life.

“I… _what_?” he said weakly, unable to truly comprehend just how old the sprite sitting in front of him was.

Levi quirked a brow, taking in Eren’s shock with some amusement. In terms of the slowly-aging sprites, Levi had just barely entered his mid-20s.

The water was going a bit tepid and so Levi called up more Sun magic, letting it linger in his hands as he swirled them in the water, pouring more heat into it until it was pleasantly warm. Eren just continued staring at him in shock, mind stuttering a bit; Levi was literally a magical creature and their long lifespan made sense, but…

 _Nearly_ four hundred years old. Jesus Christ.

“I take it humans age differently?” Levi asked, afterwards, voice light with humor. His head tilted to the side as he looked at Eren more closely, eyes picking out subtle, almost invisible signs of age. During his transformation, the former human’s skin had smoothed out and gained the faint, healthy glow that all sprites possessed, but Levi’s eyes were trained to see the faint hints of age and determined that at least physically, they were close to the same age. He didn’t quite understand Eren’s shock and was curious what had made the alpha suddenly turn a bit pale.

“In terms of appearance, you look to be slightly older than I am, but not too much,” Levi informed him, a bit confused at the way Eren was looking at him like he’d suddenly grown two heads. Levi had assumed that Eren was about the same age he was, but considering his reaction and how little they knew about humans, it was safe to assume that they had a different lifespan than sprites. “I reached adulthood when I was 50 summers, after I presented as an omega. I’m not too much younger than you are, right?”

Levi thought Eren was just as old, if not older than he was. Even the thought was dizzying, along with the knowledge that he was going to be that old someday as well. Eren felt like he was going to pass out at the casually-spoken words.

Instead of doing that, though, Eren inhaled deeply and nodded faintly. Humans aging differently was a huge fucking understatement. They aged _a lot_ differently. “I… if we’re going by ‘summers,’ then I’ve experienced 27 of them.”

Levi stared at him, eyes wide. 27?

When Levi was 27, he’d still been learning to fly. At 27, Levi had had no idea that when he woke up on his 50th hatching day, it would be to a heat sizzling through his body and two new wings to learn how to fly with.

He suddenly understood Eren’s shock, because it was his turn to experience it.

Sprites reached adulthood relatively quickly compared to how long they lived; their childhood lasted until they were about 20 years old. They slowly learned how to fly during that time, building up their weak flight muscles with strength over the years. In that regard, Eren was lucky; his flight muscles had been formed fully capable of holding his weight up, though his stamina lacked a bit.

At around 20, sprites hit a massive growth spurt, looking for all the world like adults. However, until they hit 50, they lacked a dynamic. Sprites weren’t considered true adults until after they presented. In terms of sprites, Eren was still a teenager, a fledgling who hadn’t had his first heat or rut yet and that was absolutely shocking to Levi.

“Fuck.” Then, the implications of the stark age difference between them sunk in and Levi groaned, his wings flicking in agitation. “I’m a moon-damned nest-snatcher,” Levi moaned forlornly, closing his eyes. “Fuck.” A smothered laugh came from in front of him and the omega lifted his head and fixed an amused, bright-eyed Eren with a deadly glare. The laugh died off for a moment, because Levi looked positively murderous. “Mention one word of this to Farlan and Isabel and I’ll kill you.”

Eren chuckled, his wings waving a bit in his humor. “Noted.”

Now that the shock had passed, their age difference was actually a bit funny, in that it was so extreme. Levi had already been considered an adult for a long time when Eren was born. It was very, very strange to think of Levi being well over 300 years older than him, Eren thought.

Eren had been certain that most sprites were older than they looked, but the sheer number of years between he and Levi was absolutely outrageous. Although, as he thought about it more, it started making more sense. There was also a certain aged wisdom that glimmered in their eyes, one that made them look as if they held the age-old secrets of the world.

Sprites had a somewhat timeless appearance as well, lacking any sign of wrinkles or imperfections that bespoke aging. Despite some of them looking to be in their 30s or 40, all of them had youthful features and they spoke and moved with a certain elegance that made it apparent that they were much older than they appeared.

Muttering a bit to himself as he continued to think about how much _younger_ Eren was than him, Levi used the last little bit of clean water to rinse the tea leaf mixture from their hair, then rose. Water droplets streamed down his pale skin, making Eren’s mouth dry as he took in long, toned calves, strong thighs and the pert little ass that looked absolutely mouthwatering.

Eren had never wanted to sink his teeth into anything more at that exact moment in time.

The omega ignored the hungry gaze and stepped out of the basin. “If we stay in there much longer, we’re going to shrivel up,” he muttered, flicking his wings a few times as he did so.

The preening oil and buttery soap worked as a wonderful water resistant; fat drops of water rolled down his wings and were flicked off with ease, leaving them mostly dry.

“Ah, yeah,” Eren coughed, broken from his staring. He stepped out of the basin and Levi handed him a soft, warm towel. He saw the lingering glow fading from Levi’s hands and couldn’t help but be impressed. An omega’s magic had so many wonderful uses. Eren groaned in pleasure as he ran the towel over his chilled, wet skin.

The forest was warm during the day, but the sun was going to set soon and the weak light no longer warmed as much as it had, leaving the bath hollow the slightest bit chilly.

Eren reached up and rubbed the towel over his hair. He dried it with a sigh, making a face when his hair only served to tangle at the treatment. Long hair wasn’t something he was used to; in England, he had kept it somewhat short. However, during the expedition there had been no reason to fuss about his appearance and so he let it grow out, intent on cutting it once back in England.

Levi didn’t seem to disapprove of his long hair, however. Considering that he was no longer human… Eren thought maybe a change was in order. He’d started a new life, after all. Maybe keeping it long would be a good change to make.

Levi slung the towel around his hips, securing it before he gestured at Eren to lean down after watching him continue to rub hopelessly at his hair. When he saw Levi’s small black claws unsheathe, Eren breathed a sigh of relief. He gave his hair one last rub to dry it as much as possible and then bent down. Gently, Levi’s claws raked through his hair, smoothing it out and scratching gently at his scalp. It felt nice and Eren let a rumbling purr vibrate in his chest as Levi brushed his hair.

“The tea leaves worked,” Levi noted in approval. Eren’s hair had been soft before, but now it was extremely easy to detangle and soft, slipping through his fingers like silk. He made a note to ask the woodcarving rotation to make a set of combs for Eren. He didn’t mind doing this for Eren, but it would be a good gift and he thought the alpha would like it.

Levi held his hand out for the strip of fabric he’d used to secure Eren’s hair into a bun before and the alpha held it up immediately. He plucked the fabric out of Eren’s hand and gathered the long strands together, tying the hair up just as swiftly and as neatly as he’d done before.

“You’re very skilled at this,” Eren remarked he straightened. Levi was combing his own hair back, steadfastly not looking at Eren’s nude body.

Eren did not have the willpower to do the same, however, and greedily drank in the sight of Levi’s pale skin and tantalizing, trailing black omega marks. His nipples were hard and pebbled from the slight chill and Eren had to resist the urge to lick his lips or lean in for a nibble.

“I didn’t always have short hair,” Levi said, swiftly dropping the towel from his hips and stepping into his pants, pulling them up in a quick movement. Like his other pair, they were black but much looser and Eren had to admit they looked very comfortable. “I used to wear it long, much like you did.”

Eren tried to picture Levi with long hair and found it was rather easy; he rather liked the image of Levi with silky black hair down past his shoulders. “Why the change?”

Levi paused for a moment and then sighed, pulling on his shirt. “It’s traditional for omegas to wear their hair long.”

Eren thought for a moment; the other omegas he’d seen did indeed have long hair. Levi was the only omega he’d seen with hair in that particular style, but he’d seen other betas and alphas with undercuts as well.

“Other dynamics do as well, but in omegas… long, smooth hair is a sign of health and being well-provided for. In order to disguise myself better, I had Isabel cut it for me before we joined the commune.” An amused light glinted in his eyes. “She got a bit overzealous at the bottom, and Farlan took over, helped salvage what was left.” He reached up and grabbed an inky-black lock, fiddling with it before tucking it off to the side. “It was actually a relief to get rid of it; the length and weight of it was irritating.”

“I like your hair this way,” Eren said. “Your hair is still smooth and looks healthy, and this style suits you.”

“Good, because I wasn’t planning on changing it,” Levi said drily and Eren laughed heartily. Levi was feisty and he absolutely adored his dry, snarky sense of humor.

Levi shook his head and then glanced over at Eren. “The clothes you were wearing are filthy. I’ll make you some new ones,” he muttered, blinking and resolutely looking away again. Light traveled through his marks and Levi held his hands out. His hands glowed a bright white, turning an almost icy silver that Eren had only seen one other time – when he was _soul-casting_.

 _Star magic,_ Eren thought. _He must be testing out the new magic._

Eren watched, enraptured as cotton threads appeared and started spooling in the air, rapidly forming first a dark blue, open-backed shirt and then black pants that looked much Levi’s. The air temperature dropped slightly, and a light frost coated the darkened tips of Levi’s fingers.

Unlike Levi’s other magic, Eren could _feel_ this one sitting heavy in the air. A chill ran over his skin and he shivered; there was an odd, almost ancient feel to the air that made his hairs pick up. In awe, Eren watched as the last spiral of thread wove itself into the pants, and then Levi was opening his eyes and taking a deep breath.

His eyes shone silver and then Levi blinked, shaking his head a bit. He looked down at the clothes, a brooding expression drawing his brows together. “It felt different this time,” Levi murmured, holding the clothes out to Eren. “I could feel it – these are real. They started as an illusion and I was able to will them into reality.”

“Can… can you do that for other things?” Eren breathed, considering all the possibilities, but Levi frowned pensively at the thought.

“I’m not sure. It… I don’t think it’s something I want to do very often,” he said quietly, voice far away and eyes unfocused as he remembered the feel of forcing his illusions into reality. “It felt like… I was _taking_ energy or materials from another place. As if someone were losing something to make the illusion real, something _important_.”

He blinked once more, eyes refocusing, and he shook his head to clear away the odd thoughts.

“I don’t think it would be wise to do it very often,” he said. The silver sheen was fading from his eyes and still a bit awed, Eren nodded slowly. “These will have to do for now. We can find you some actual clothes tomorrow. There should be someone who is as tall as you. Erwin would probably be more than happy to gift you some clothes as well until we can put in a request with the sewing rotation.”

“Do you think these clothes will stay real, or I don’t know, fade?” he gestured at the old clothes, still sitting crumpled in the corner. “This time, it didn’t feel like it did when you made those.”

Levi sighed as he looked down to the frost coating his fingers. “I’m still not sure how Star magic works. I know I can use it to make my illusions stronger, and I think that’s what happened with the first ones I made,” he said, warming his fingers with a small amount of Sun magic and watching as the thin ice disappeared under the heat. “Those clothes look real for the moment, but for all we know, they could disappear at random during the middle of the day. I’d rather not take any chances.”

“Ah, good point,” Eren laughed, wincing a bit at the thought of finding himself naked in front of the entire community. “Did your mother… did she not teach you about Star magic?”

“No,” Levi said quietly, so much so that Eren had to strain to hear Levi, pausing as he pulled his shirt onto his arms so that the rustling wouldn’t drown out the omega’s quiet, deep voice. “When I was old enough to understand, she told me about our Touched heritage; as with any other Touched, it came with powerful gifts that could lead to severe repercussions. She told me of the wish, what she had done and why.” He blew out a breath. “It was a bit of a shock knowing that I was born female, that I was supposed to be different.”

The words sparked something within Eren, a new worry. Levi seemed comfortable and at ease in his body, but…

“Do you… are you…” Eren struggled to find the words. He had a few friends in England who felt uncomfortable with their bodies, who were born as one sex and only felt at peace when presenting themselves to the world as so. However, Victorian-era England was not kind to those who weren’t considered ‘normal’ by society’s standards and much like Eren being gay, they had to hide who they truly were.

Was Levi like that? Would he be more comfortable being female? Eren struggled to find the right words, to tell Levi that he would like the omega no matter who he was and then a spark of realization flashed across Levi’s face.

“Oh. I understand,” Levi said calmly, as if it were a normal occurrence. Although, considering how easily sprite society accepted gay couples, (and were kind and understanding in all other ways) it was not beyond the realm of possibility that people like his friends existed here, too. “No, the wish… it alters reality and changed every aspect of me. I may have been born female, but I _am_ male. My mind and body are in agreement.” Levi’s eyes softened and he looked to Eren with appreciation written all over his face. “It was kind of you to ask.”

Eren shrugged. “I care about you,” he said with a small smile. “I want you to be comfortable with me.”

Levi snorted at that, but Eren could tell that the words had greatly pleased the other sprite. “I think you know I’d tell you if I wasn’t,” he drawled, eyes going heavy-lidded, and Eren choked a bit at the subtle reminder of what they’d done earlier.

“ _Levi_ ,” he groaned, getting the smallest bit turned on from how intently the omega was staring at him. Fuck, Levi’s teasing and just… his entire _existence_ was going to be the end of Eren.

The sprite just scoffed and turned, flicking Eren in the face with a smooth tip of his wing as he did so. “I’m going to the cooking hearth to get some food. I’m starving.”

“I’ll come with,” Eren said hastily as Levi grabbed their boots and handed Eren’s to him, grabbing the little box with his soaps in it to drop off at his hollow. Something about Levi at the moment had his alpha in a tizzy, had him biting back a growl at the thought of Levi going anywhere alone.

Levi just looked and smelled so fresh and clean with his hair damp and still dripping a bit, cheeks flushed from the warmth of the water. His wings were a glossy black in the sunlight and the smell of lemon and sandalwood soap mixed with lavender and honey in a dizzying, alluring concoction.

In short, he looked pretty and smelled nice, and all Eren wanted to do was stick his nose in Levi’s concentrated scent and roll around in it for a good, long while. His alpha couldn’t stand the thought of other alphas near Levi, snarled at the thought of any other scents other than Eren’s own linger on Levi’s skin.

“No, it’s okay. You look tired,” Levi said, shaking his head. Eren just stared at him like he’d grown an extra head. “Eren. You’ve been through a lot. I’m just going to grab something for us to eat and then I’ll come back to the hollow. I’ll be fast. Wait for me there.”

“Levi,” Eren said, brows drawing together. “I know you can take care of yourself, but, just… I _can’t_ just let you go alone.”

“Why?” Levi didn’t sound upset, just genuinely curious and Eren struggled to tell Levi what he was feeling without being on overbearing, overprotective prick.

“Because, shit, Levi,” Eren sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “You smell like… you smell _fantastic_ and I’m having a hard time controlling myself, so what are the other alphas going to do? I _know_ that nothing will happen,” Eren added, before Levi could say anything. “I know, and I trust this community and the sprites here to be respectful, but you’re about to go into heat and my instincts are going haywire here. Just… please let me have this, and when the heat is over, I’ll go back to being normal Eren,” he finished, giving a crooked smile.

Levi blinked. “Is it really that bad?”

Eren could have laughed at that. _Yeah, it’s bad._

“Well, honestly, having my instincts screaming at me to take you somewhere and fuck you into the ground isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does get distracting.”

At the candid, half-growled words, Levi’s eyes widened slightly before dropping back down to regard Eren with a heavy-lidded, lazy stare. “Huh,” Levi said softly. “Not a bad thing at all.”

“Levi!” Eren choked, missing the way Levi turned away to hide a smile. “You can’t just _say_ – you’re _killing_ me,” he groaned, dropping his head into his hand. When he peeked out through his fingers, Levi was fully dressed, flicking a few stray droplets off of his wings.

“Oi, are you done breaking down?” Levi asked impassively.

_No, not when just seeing you almost has me losing control._

“Uh, yeah. I think so,” Eren said, taking a deep breath through his mouth in order to calm himself down. It helped somewhat, though Eren could still feel something dark and wild and hungry simmering under his skin, waiting to be unleashed.

“Good. Then let’s go get some food.”

Eren's heart lifted. Levi’s face was set into his normal, neutral mask, but his clear grey eyes were soft and it made Eren's heart swell. Levi wasn’t mad, wasn’t going to order him back to the hollow and make him stay there. Levi obviously cared, and it made his wings flutter a bit in happiness.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Eren said, following Levi out onto the branch with a pleased smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 6 should be up in a day or two, considering I just need to do some editing and change a few things. I think you guys'll like it. :)
> 
> Feedback feeds my muse, and my muse feeds me. <3


	6. The flower begins to bloom; we catch the pollen upon our fingertips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Well, are you gonna tell him he just gave you your first kiss in front of nearly the entire community, or shall I?”
> 
> It took everything Levi had not to jump as the familiar voice whispered those teasing words right next to his ear. He couldn’t even tell the sprite she was wrong, because fuck it all, she was right.
> 
> “By the _Moon_ , Hanji,” Levi said, letting his head drop into his hand. 
> 
> God, he had it so fucking _bad_ for Eren.

It didn’t take them long to flit over to Levi’s hollow and drop off the box of body and hair soaps; Levi ducked in, placed it back on its shelf and flitted back out.

Eren held the curtain to the side for him and as Levi passed him, he couldn’t help but instinctively lean in and sniff a bit at Levi. The sprite smelled of the soap and warm lavender, but while there was a hint of Eren’s scent on him, it was faint enough to be missed unless one was sniffing extremely close to Levi.

The thought had him frowning in displeasure. As Levi stepped back out, Eren stepped closer to him and leaned down to sniff a bit at his neck. Yup, very faint.

“Eren?” Levi asked, tilting his head back to look up at the alpha. Shit, Eren was tall; though, pretty much every sprite was taller than he was, so it wasn’t anything new, Levi thought to himself.

There was a focused, intense look on Eren’s handsome face as he drew back. “I think my scent got washed away,” he said, voice a bit odd, teal eyes zeroing in on the bump on Levi’s neck which belied the location of his scent gland. “Levi, can I mark you again?”

There was a borderline desperate look on Eren’s face, the same one that had been present when he insisted on accompanying Levi to the cooking hearth for dinner.

These instincts were new to him, Levi had to keep reminding himself. Although Eren acted and carried himself like a natural-born alpha, controlled himself better around the omega he was courting than some alphas he’d seen during Spring Courting, he’d only been an alpha sprite for not even a full day yet. It was easy to forget sometimes, because he conducted himself so well, so naturally.

Eyes softening in empathy and understanding, Levi nodded. He wanted Eren’s scent on him as well, wanted to mark Eren back. Levi couldn’t smell himself on the alpha anymore, either.

“Of course. Come here,” he invited, tilting his head to the side and holding his hands up. He was pleased that even after their talk earlier, Eren still made sure to ask for permission to do this, as scent marking was a more intimate activity.

Rumbling with pleasure, Eren stepped closer, enveloping Levi in the smell of bright sunshine and the ocean. His scent glands were already glossing with oil; a sign that Eren was on the cusp of his rut to correspond with Levi’s heat. They looked a bit more swollen than normal, standing out in stark relief against Eren’s sun-bronzed skin.

Levi wanted nothing more than to finally sink his teeth in deep finally bond them together, just as both he and his omega craved.

 _Soon_ , a quiet voice inside him whispered, and Levi knew it to be true. Knowing he had to wait just a little bit longer helped to calm him down; there was no point to be rushing into things, no point to act crazy and desperate over the thought of a little scent marking.

Slowly, Eren bent down to carefully rub his neck against Levi’s, taking ahold of one slim wrist and using his other hand to spread thin oil onto the scent gland there. He was cautious, memories of how out of control they’d gotten the last time they’d rubbed their necks together forefront in both of their minds.

Levi sighed as their rising scents intermingled, creating a pleasing mixture that would linger in the air outside his hollow for the next while. Eren crooned lightly in his throat, happy at being able to mark the omega he was courting and Levi tilted his head back a bit more, responding with a quiet, short trill of encouragement.

Eren’s neck was warm against his own, and the pleased pheromones the alpha was giving off sunk into Levi’s gland, making his eyes droop. He inhaled in pleasure, briefly mourning the contact when Eren pulled away, but was relieved when he realized Eren was just switching sides and wrists.

Once Levi’s glands were sufficiently coated, he shifted to rub his neck over Levi’s still slightly damp hair, wrists sliding over his arms and spreading pheromone-heavy oils along his skin. Eren’s scent was so strong that Levi knew he’d smell of the alpha for days just from this. The thought made his omega purr in pleasure and he made a small noise of dissatisfaction when Eren pulled away.

Eren just offered a crooked, rueful smile and shook his head in self-admonishment. “If I keep going, I’m going to lose it,” he admitted, nosing through Levi’s hair and inhaling deeply, taking care not to brush against the short, dark horns. His scent was prominent on Levi now, serving as a warning and obvious staked claim. His heavy, overpowering scent practically screamed ‘ _mine’_ and judging from the way Levi was tilting his head back, pushing his arm back against Eren’s wrist, the omega greatly approved.

It helped calm his alpha, and he was soothed even more when unprompted, Levi started smoothing his wrists over Eren’s forearms. Eyelids fluttering in pleasure, he bent down once more, allowing Levi to run his neck over his hair and he sighed in bliss at being so obviously marked back.

Levi was staking his claim just as much as Eren was and it made a low coo of approval rumble from his throat at the wordless possessiveness. He adored the thought of Levi being so forward, so willing to make sure that every sprite who scented Eren knew without a doubt he belonged to the black-haired omega.

Levi sniffed at him a few times before he pulled back, regarding Eren with heavy-lidded grey eyes. “Is that better?” he asked and Eren nodded happily before sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Eren murmured, and then, unable to help it, he drew the omega in close. Eren wrapped his arms around Levi’s shoulders and rested the side of his face on top of Levi’s head, careful not to get poked by the tip of a horn.

Levi stiffed for a second before he relaxed back, wings waving as he allowed Eren to hug him. After a moment, he raised his arms and tentatively wrapped them around Eren’s waist. His fingers trailed almost absentmindedly down Eren’s back, tracing along the swell of flight muscles. When Eren shifted them a bit to give Levi more access, they glinted in the sun and Levi was spellbound.

The shimmering aqua looked even brighter than before; the soap and gentle scrubbing had brought out the true shine of Eren’s wings and Levi was entranced with watching the shifting threads of dark blue and green that rippled through the bright expanses.

Levi couldn’t remember the last time he’d been hugged; he thought it might have been when his mother was still alive. She’d hugged him the night before Maria fell, but after that… he’d become withdrawn. He’d barely let Isabel or Farlan preen his wings either, a forlornness settling within his heart. It had been a heavy burden to bear, knowing that the community had fallen and so many had died because of a wish made on his behalf. He’d been terrified of getting close to other sprites, integrating too deeply into a community only to have everything ripped from him once again.

The sight of Maria razed had been seared into his mind and featured as the setting of many nightmares. The sight of his mother and uncle’s burned, bloodied bodies had haunted him for many years.

While nepotism did not exist within the sprite society, his uncle, (who had been the former Captain of Maria’s Scouts) had personally overseen his training when he was younger. The sprite had pushed him hard and had been harsh sometimes, but underneath that gruff exterior beat a gentle heart. He’d sensed the fire burning within Levi, the raw, untapped potential; he’d wanted his young nephew to be strong and capable. It had been hard work, but when his uncle decided to step down and let a younger sprite take up the title, no one had complained when it was recommended that Kenneth’s nephew, be tapped for the position. Kenneth’s strength and speed was practically legendary, and having another Ackerman who was hand-trained by the sprite take up the position had been approved by all.

Strength and speed didn’t matter for shit when facing creatures many times larger than one’s self, however. Levi had found his uncle barely alive, burned badly and trapped underneath some debris from the fallen community tree.

_I never was cut out to be a father, but I did right by you. Still regret I’ll never get to see you in action as Captain, but you’ll reach it again someday._

And yet, despite the tragedy, Levi was still here. It had taken time to build himself up again after losing everything, but he’d made it.

A feeling of peace spread through him and he closed his eyes, letting his head fall against Eren’s broad, firm chest. The alpha’s heart started beating a bit faster at that and Levi had to suppress a smile. Eren was so honest and open with how he felt, something that Levi greatly appreciated. He liked knowing how much Eren cared about him, how the alpha felt and it… it was _nice_. Everything about Eren was nice, and it made him feel lighter and more at peace than he had in a long, long time. 

Eren didn’t think he’d ever felt this content or fulfilled before, with Levi pressed against him, returning the hug. Levi felt _right_ in his arms, like they were two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.

As they stood there, enjoying each other’s comforting presence, Eren looked out to the horizon. He could see that the sun was just about to start setting.

The bottom of the sun was close to touching the top of the mountain on the horizon, and Levi seemed relieved at the sight as he looked to the side, peering at the horizon. He was most likely looking forwards to the darkness and not having to squint into the sunlight.

Eren rather liked this time of night. There was a soft, golden glow suffusing the world, and the gentle call of birdsong and chirping of insects that leant everything a peaceful air. Eren glanced over at Levi and saw him looking off towards the sun pensively, With the sun’s rays no longer shining directly on his wings, Eren could once more see the soft, misty greys towards the base of his wings and the veins of polished silver that threaded through the inky expanse. They no longer looked pure black, and while Eren found Levi’s wings beautiful always, the burnished silver reminded Eren of his awe when they first met and would always hold a special place in his heart.

The silver color reminded Eren of the charm on Levi’s horn, and he realized just how distracted he was becoming by the omega who was quietly holding him back. As much as Eren wanted to, he knew they couldn’t stand there forever. Eren looked down, but right as he went to say that they should eat dinner before it got too much darker, his eyes were drawn to the wide silver band wrapped around Levi’s horn that had occupied his thoughts just moments before.

The silver wrapped around the opal reminded him much of his mother’s wedding ring, actually, now that he thought about it. Rather than getting the traditional diamond and golden band, his parents had opted for something more sentimental. They’d carried each other’s birthstone in their wedding rings; his mother’s slim silver band had held an opal, while his father’s thick golden band had a small aquamarine embedded in it.

Suddenly, Eren knew _exactly_ what he wanted Ymir to make.

He knew sprites had vastly different customs, but… he was a former human, and it was how he and Levi had met. The thought of Levi wearing a piece of jewelry akin to a wedding ring wrapped around his horn sent Eren’s heart pounding. God, it would be absolutely perfect. Levi would understand once Eren explained, knew he would be more than happy to accept the gift.

The thought made him beam and nose into Levi’s hair.

“Oi.” Levi’s voice was quiet and Eren drew his head back to avoid getting jabbed by a horn when Levi looked up, his eyebrow quirked. “What’s got you looking like a fool?”

Eren reached out and brushed the tip of his wings over Levi’s shoulder. “Besides you?” Eren teased, delighted when the omega’s thin black eyebrows rose, and the tip of a slightly pointed ear grew slightly pink. “You’ll find out soon.”

Levi tilted his head, obviously pondering if he wanted to push for more information or not. Eventually, he decided not to and shook his head. “Let’s go eat. I’m hungry.”

Eren could get on board with that. Reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms from around Levi’s shoulders, but his dismay was tempered by the idea he’d had and suddenly, he was desperate to see if Historia and Ymir were at the cooking hearth or dining platform. He wanted to speak with them briefly, set up a time to talk about Historia’s generous offer.

“Yeah,” Eren agreed, spreading his wings. Levi mirrored him, after flapping a few times to make sure they were fully dry; flying with wet wings was unpleasant. The feel of water droplets on his wings threw off his ability to feel the air currents and unbalanced him slightly.

Satisfied that they were dry, he hopped into the air. He inclined his head towards the community tree, gliding away with Eren following him.

“So what all do you - _we_ \- even eat?” Eren asked, wondering what kind of food he would find at dinner. “Do we just subsist off of like, desserts and sugar, kind of like hummingbirds?”

Levi gave a soft, breathy laugh. Eren's heart fluttered at the sound of that quiet _heh_ , his cheeks flushing in pleasure at Levi’s small smile. “We eat a lot of fruits and nuts, honey too, since those are easiest for us to gather. There are a few group rotations that get sent out with Scouts to take down small animals, too - birds or squirrels or the like. We get salt from the sea to make certain dishes and preserve the meat, or keep it buried underground with our snow reserves. One of the omegas refreshes the cold storage every morning and night to keep it cool.”

“How? I thought that Sunlight sprites were attuned to light and warmth?”

“They are attuned light and _heat_ ,” Levi corrected. “Cold is just a lack of heat. Sun magic allows us to both give heat and take it away.”

Levi and Eren slowly made their way to the cooking hearth, twisting through the branches and spiraling up through the lower platforms. Eren could feel eyes on the both of them but didn’t allow the inquisitive looks to bother him. He already knew that he looked odd to the other sprites, and with Levi recently being revealed as an omega, the community was curious about the two of them.

As they landed, Levi looked speculatively over to where the sun was starting to dip behind a mountain and an idea came to mind.

Sprites were gathered around the long counters, cooking fires, and ovens; most were dishing food out and chatting casually. Levi was rarely here during the dinner rush; he and Isabel and Farlan usually came near the tail end, and it was shocking to be around almost the entire community.

“Why don’t you go go get something for both of us,” Levi suggested, wings flicking a bit. “I’ll get us a spot on the dining level. There’s an area where you can see the sunset over the mountain, but it’s a popular place to sit.”

Eren blinked, a bit surprised. Levi wanted to watch the sunset with him?

The omega mistook his silence for unwillingness, however. Levi tilted his head curiously. “If not, I can come with-”

“What?” Eren said, before the words registered. “No, just… I’d like that. I want to see it. Thank you.” Eren gave him a soft smile and then jerked his head towards the cooking level. “I’ll hurry back.”

Unthinkingly, Eren leaned forwards to give Levi a kiss, just a soft brush of his lips against the omega’s as a gesture of affection. Levi froze at the sudden contact, unprepared for it and how utterly soft Eren’s lips were.

Thinking he had done something wrong, Eren jerked back, taking in the stunned look in Levi’s eyes.

“Shit,” he whispered, then raised his voice and said, “I’m sorry, Levi, if I overstepped-”

“It’s fine, you idiot,” Levi said, shaking his head a bit and stepping back. Eren thought his cheeks were a bit flushed, but he wasn’t sure. Either way, it seemed Levi was a bit embarrassed, and the thought made Eren want to coo at him just a little bit. “Just go. Make sure you get some of Sasha’s stew; she’s the best cook in the community, so her food always goes fast.”

“Got it,” Eren laughed, giving him a wink before he darted away, wings fluttering a bit, pleased at finally plucking up the courage to kiss the omega. A few sprites turned their head to watch him go, obviously curious about the newcomer. Eyes lingered on Eren's horns and his wings, but for the most part, many were less obvious as they furtively glanced at the new and strange-looking alpha.

A swell of possessiveness rose within him as he saw a few betas and even a couple of alphas give him an appreciative look, lingering on Eren’s broad shoulders or appreciating the exotic color of his wings. So engrossed was he in watching Eren stride away with narrowed eyes that he didn’t notice a certain telltale, woodsy scent until the source of it was right next to him. 

“Well, are you gonna tell him he just gave you your first kiss in front of nearly the entire community, or shall I?”

It took everything Levi had not to jump as the familiar voice whispered those teasing words right next to his ear. He couldn’t even tell the sprite she was wrong, because fuck it all, she was _right._

“By the _Moon_ , Hanji,” Levi said, letting his head drop into his hand. God, he had it so fucking _bad_ for Eren.

Even thinking about how it had felt to have Eren hold him in a gentle hug threatened to make pink creep across his cheeks and furiously, he fought it down.

 _Now’s not the time to let everyone see you like a blushing fledgling,_ Levi thought, annoyed at himself. _Your fucking squad is here_.

Indeed, Eld and Oluo were by the counter, chatting with a few other sprites as they helped themselves to the food. Connie was helping to prepare more, forming balls of dough into balls and occasionally stirring a few pots. Sasha was behind the counter, hands and marks constantly aglow as she kept the food set out warm and appetizing. She occasionally stepped away to instantly bake more rolls or add heat to a pot of stew to keep it cooking. She had her hands full, yet still stopped to give a cheery smile to Eren as the alpha neared the counter.

“Relax, I’m not gonna give you a hard time tonight. If you get upset, Eren gets upset and I’d rather not make an alpha in pre-rut angry,” Hanji cooed, sidling up to him. She went to toss an arm over his shoulder but thought better of it at the last moment as she scented Eren on him. “Whew, I can smell him even from a distance. He has some strong pheromones.”

She sniffed at Levi for a moment as he turned to face her. She pulled back, nose wrinkling. “He didn’t smell like that earlier today. And your smell is stronger, too,” she commented. “Judging by how fast the strength of both of your pheromones is increasing, I’d say you’ll be in heat by tomorrow night at the very latest.”

“Shit,” Levi breathed. His heart gave a lurch; while he was eager to finally be bonded to Eren, thoughts of his first and last heat still lingered in the back of his mind, making him slightly anxious. “That is fast.”

“C’mon, let’s go. I overheard you saying you wanted to sit at the balcony and the spots were filling up fast when I looked last,” Hanji said empathetically. She could smell the slightly anxious tinge to his lavender scent; considering what she knew about him and had pieced together, it made sense for him to be feeling slightly apprehensive.

However, she had no doubt that when the time came, Eren would more than look after the short omega.

Levi nodded and they strolled to one of the landing platforms, taking off and winging up to the dining level. It was just starting to fill up, a myriad of sprites settling in to eat dinner. The dining platform had rows of long tables and some smaller ones as well, with cushions to sit on placed around the tables. It allowed the sprites to sit comfortably and lean back as well as stretch their legs as they ate. It gave a comfy, homey feel to the level and Levi appreciated it greatly.

“You know, the entire community knows that you’re going into heat,” Hanji said as they landed and walked off the platform, a few more sprites arriving behind them. “I’ve already had a few sprites stop by and leave a few things for you. Not just supplies for your heat, but little trinkets and gifts, too. Things that you’d like; marble cups, Moonglow-styled rugs, charms for outside, things to keep in your home and make it more of one.”

Levi stopped mid-step, turning to look at Hanji, a bit incredulous. It was normal to leave supplies for a heat, but the gifts? Those were only given to a newly-presented omega during their first heat, to ensure they had everything they needed after the heat ended and they moved into their own separate hollow. It helped to make sure they were happy and content.

But Levi had already presented and had his own hollow with everything he needed. He’d had his own hollow for literally hundreds of seasons. Therefore, while it was a kind gesture, it was completely unnecessary and Levi was quick to point that out. “That’s fucking pointless. I don’t need any of that shit.”

“Be that as it may, they’re still leaving gifts for you,” Hanji shrugged, nudging him forwards again. They resumed walking, slipping between glinting wings and spread-out legs. “They’re _happy_ to see another omega. They’re instinctively trying to tell you that the community has accepted you,” Hanji explained, going off what some of the sprites had mentioned when they stopped by Hanji’s hollow. “They want to make sure that you have everything you need and to get you to stay.”

Some sprites were worried that Levi was going to leave with Eren now that he’d found his _asula_. Not many knew the true reason as to why Levi had hid his omega status, but many were worried it was because he felt unsafe or unhappy in Rose; that he hadn’t felt comfortable living as an omega here and that he was going to join another community once his heat was over.

Which was ridiculous, Levi thought. He’d never given any indication that he was unhappy here… though he supposed he’d never explicitly shown he was happy, either.

Still, everyone should have felt that Eren had been accepted into Rose; if Levi and Eren intended to leave, they wouldn’t have gone through the process and talked to Erwin. They would have just made preparations and left.

“Not like I’m going anywhere,” Levi said, shaking his head. He knew omegas were valued, but leaving him gifts… it spoke of a different level of caring from the community than he was really used to, and a small lump threatened to form in his throat.

They approached the little overlook that Levi had wanted to sit at, but to his disappointment, it was completely full. He could see Historia and Ymir sitting at one of the smaller tables with a couple other members of his squad, Petra and Gunther.

Hanji pursed her lips for a moment, humming as she watched the sprites who had just taken the last few seats settle in.

“Let me go see if any of them are almost done eating,” Hanji said, walking over to one of the tables. He watched as Hanji walked up to Historia, keeping a respectful distance away. They talked for a moment, a couple of other sprites listening in as Hanji gestured and as she finished, Historia nodded and she and Ymir stood up with their plates.

A few other sprites did as well, but Petra and Gunther stood up, gesturing them to stay as they gathered up their plates and cups. As the four of them drew near, he saw with some confusion that their plates were all still full.

Petra and Gunther discreetly scented him as they passed by, smiling at him. “Have a good dinner, Squad Leader Levi,” Petra murmured, her voice sincere. Her bright golden-yellow and orange wings fluttered a few times as she nodded at him. Then she and the other beta were strolling off, settling down near the railing a few spots away.

However, Historia came directly to him and stopped, smiling sweetly. “The sunset is going to be beautiful tonight,” she said, Ymir hovering directly behind her like a constant shadow. “We’ve just about finished eating, so you’re free to take our seats.”

Ymir’s spicy, mulled-wine scent rose to his nose and he had to fight to keep it from wrinkling. Sprites could somewhat sense if they would be compatible bondmates by scent; if they were drawn to the scent, there was a higher likelihood that they were a good match. Because he’d found his _asula_ , Eren’s scent would be the only one he was truly drawn to, but other scents could still smell good to him. Ymir’s wasn’t bad, but besides being bonded to Historia and therefore unavailable, his instincts were telling him that the alpha would be a terrible match for him.

Still Historia and Ymir looked happy together, the scent of mulled wine and vanilla entwining pleasantly and indicating that they were indeed, very content.

As he fought to keep his nose from scrunching, Levi looked down at their plates and raised an eyebrow. “Doesn’t look like it,” he remarked drily, seeing the dishes still heaped with food.

Historia just smiled knowingly, waving all four of her wings. In a move that shocked Levi, she lazily curled one around to rub at Levi’s; it was a gesture omegas used to reassure other omegas. It served as a platonic, yet intimate touch used to soothe others of their same dynamic. The feel of an omega’s wings were unique, and the dynamics used it to recognize each other. The gesture was as good as saying, _you’re not alone, I’m with you, I stand by you, don’t worry._

It made Levi jolt a bit before he instinctively relaxed as his omega recognized another omega, Historia’s sweet scent comforting and soothing both Levi and his dynamic. It had been a long time since he’d had any sort of dynamic-inherent gesture used on him, having been masked as a beta for the longest time. However, there was something familiar and welcome in the feel of another smooth, soft omega’s wing brushing over his. Levi inhaled deeply before tentatively curling his opposite wing around to do the same with Historia. 

What Levi wasn’t aware of was that this was a display for the community, who was surreptitiously watching the exchange. Historia approaching him and soothing the omega served to demonstrate that her dynamic accepted him as one of their own; that he had her approval and trust. When he returned the gesture, it showed that he was comfortable, secure in his dynamic and indicated that he desired to hide it no more. It set the worried community at ease, reassured them that Levi was not unhappy and had no intentions of leaving as some of them worried.

Happy omega, happy community; they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

“I’m actually not that hungry,” she said, a pleased look in her eyes as Levi’s omega accepted hers and recognized it. Warm lavender rose as the motion of Levi’s wings coaxed some scent-laden oil to the surface of his skin and spread it through the air. “Besides, Ymir’s got a bit of a headache and says the bright colors would just hurt her eyes. You and Eren enjoy it for us.”

Well, if that wasn’t the weakest fucking excuse he’d ever heard. Ymir was a Sunlight sprite; they _lived_ for bright colors. Their eyes were actually unique in that they were able to see more colors and hues than normal, including a few colors that other sprites couldn’t.

With one last brush of her wing, Historia nodded at him, that knowing, yet comforting smile still on her face as she walked past Levi. Even Ymir nodded at him, the gesture approving, since Levi hadn’t turned Historia away. Hanji, who had been watching the interaction raptly, now enthusiastically gestured him over to the near-empty table.

Still a bit confused, Levi shook his head before he walked over and settled onto a cushion, crossing his legs as he sunk down onto the large, plush rectangle. “You said something, didn’t you?” Levi asked drily, folding his wings back as they settled down onto the cushions.

“Me?” Hanji asked innocently, raising her eyebrows.

Levi didn’t buy it for a second.

“All I asked was if they were done eating so that you could have it,” Hanji said, relenting under Levi’s unimpressed gaze. “I mentioned that, as it was his first night here, you wanted to show Eren the sunset. They all offered immediately to find another spot so we could sit here.”

“What?” Levi asked, tilting his head in confusion. “Why would they do that?”

Hanji rolled her eyes before giving him a patient look. “Because they wanted you to have the spot.” Her eyes softened and she leaned in a bit, flicking a wing. “Sprites here _like_ you, Levi. You’re an excellent member of the Scouts and when you’re on cleaning rotation, everyone knows because they always compliment you on a job well done.” Hanji reached out to place a hand over his. “They’re surprised you’re an omega, but no one is mad. No one dislikes you; in fact, I think people want to see you more often.” Levi’s eyebrows raised in surprise as Hanji continued. “They want to see all three of you. The community wants to take care of you and they’re happy that _you’re_ happy enough to go into a heat.”

Levi blinked, a bit stunned. They…

“But they hardly ever see me,” he pointed out in disbelief.

“Yeah, well, that’s your fault,” Hanji said pointedly, giving him a _look_ that seemed to pierce right through him. “They want to see you more, but you hardly ever come out during the day.”

“I don’t know if you missed something here, but I’m nocturnal,” Levi said, voice wry. “I don’t do sunlight.”

“True, but you seem to be fine during twilight and dawn,” and shit, Hanji was right. He was fine enough to train his Squad during those times, and well… small amounts of sunlight weren’t _too_ bad.

Sensing that she was getting through to Levi, Hanji’s voice gentled and became earnest. “They may not see you very much, but what they have seen, they like. They want to see you _more_. We’re a community, Levi. You help out and do more than your share of work both for Rose and the Scouts, but you don’t interact with many sprites.”

And… maybe Hanji had a point. He had kept himself rather secluded; while it’s true he did his share of the work on rotations and general community upkeep, he hadn’t put much effort into getting to know those in Rose.

Levi flapped his wings slowly in contemplation before he quietly said, “You’re right. I think…” he swallowed before finally voicing his thoughts. “After Maria fell, I think I’m just apprehensive of something like that happening again,” he murmured. “I lost my whole community, and I don’t want it to happen again.”

Hanji gave him an encouraging smile. “It won’t, and you know why that is,” she said, referring to his mother’s wish.

He sighed, looking up at Hanji. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of aqua. Eren was walking towards them, carefully navigating through the maze of sitting sprites and their closed wings. As he stepped around the sprites, they turned to watch him. They met Levi’s eyes occasionally and smiled briefly at him, sometimes giving him a nod or grin and he felt some truth to Hanji’s words.

“I’ll make more an effort,” Levi said softly, and Hanji gave him a bright smile.

Eren finally reached them, eyes raking slowly over Levi, as if making sure he was all in one piece. Levi looked up at the plates – they were both piled high with every sort of food imaginable and he raised his eyebrows.

There was no way all of that would physically fit into his stomach.

“That’s enough food to feed all of the Scouts,” he remarked as Eren leaned down to set the plates down.

“I know,” Eren laughed, sliding Levi’s over to him, then taking the cup from the crook of his elbow and setting it carefully in front of Levi. He nudged it closer and then set the fork and spoon in front of him.

A few sprites were glancing over at them, and Levi could practically feel the approval emanating from them as Eren took care to make sure Levi’s plate was prepared before moving to his own. An alpha taking care of an omega was a welcome sight, and Levi had to suppress the need to roll his eyes; mostly because his omega was purring in approval as well.

“It was weird; I tried to tell them that we didn’t need that much food, but they just waved me off and kept piling it on. Said something about you needing to be well-fed or something about a glut phase.”

Levi sighed, looking down at the mass of food piled on his plate. He knew instinctively that he _should_ eat all of this, even though the upcoming heat was sure to be very short. Hanji laughed at Levi’s unimpressed glare at the plate.

“Well, they’re not wrong,” she said, picking at her own food. “An omega’s heat is very taxing on their body. They burn off a lot of weight and usually aren’t able to eat very much during it. Before their heat, they go through a short ‘glut phase’ where they eat a ton to gain weight, which helps sustain them.”

“They basically want to make me fat,” Levi mumbled, taking his first bit of Sasha’s stew. As the flavor hit his mouth, he suddenly became ravenous and dug in, listening with one ear as Hanji explained more about the phases of a pre-heat cycle.

Eren watched with raised eyebrows as Levi quickly made his way through the food until the mountain was gone. “I’ll be right back,” Levi muttered, brows furrowed as he stared at his plate. He looked confused, like he wasn’t sure where all the food had gone. He grabbed the empty plate, stood and walked off, mumbling something about getting more.

He stepped off the ledge and Eren turned back to Hanji, who was watching in amusement. “That’s the glut phase for you,” Hanji said with a sense of satisfaction. “As soon as they start eating, instinct takes over and they’ll eat however much they can stand. It’s the body’s way of making sure it gets enough.”

A few moments later, Levi was back up and as he dropped down onto the wooden platform, his face looked even more confused. He was holding another plate piled just as high with food as the last one. He made his way back, sprites parting like a wave in order to allow him through without touching him, and Eren was pleased. There would be no foreign scents lingering upon Levi’s skin.

As Levi sat down, he shook his head a bit.

“What’s wrong?” Eren asked.

“It’s like they were expecting me to come back,” Levi said, already tucking back into the food. “They had this ready. Practically pushed it into my hands and told me to eat as much as I could.” He looked up for a moment. “I don’t remember Maria being like this before my presentation,” he said, eyebrows raised. 

“Maybe Maria is different, but it’s fairly normal here,” Hanji shrugged. She’d already gotten so many offerings and gift for Levi that this little bit didn’t shock her at all. “Maybe not to _this_ extent, but you’re the newest omega, and everyone has pretty much guessed by now that you’ve been suppressing your heats for a long time. It’s going to be pretty intense and they just want to make sure you’re well-prepared for it.”

Eren’s alpha purred at that; it bespoke what a good community this was, how well-liked his omega was among other sprites. They wanted to take care of his _asula,_ were doing whatever they could to make sure he was content and would go into this heat well-prepared, ready for Eren to take care of him.

Erwin suddenly stood up from where he’d been sitting. Dinner was well underway by this point, everyone settled in. All the sprites were chatting and eating, so Erwin thought it was a perfect time to make his announcement. He made his way to the center of the dining platform, and most of the gathered sprites fell quiet as the Head Alpha stopped. He looked around briefly before raising a hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Sprites of the Rose Sunlight commune,” he called. Everyone fell silent at his words, respectful as he stood in front of them. “Perhaps some of you were expecting this, but I need to make an announcement concerning recent occurrences.”

Levi froze, his eyes narrowing as a hushed murmur of approval went through the community. A few Sprites turned to look at him and Eren. The alpha looked a bit wary as well, his wings flicking a bit in agitation. Levi knew it was actually ideal to make an announcement like this, to tell everyone the news right away rather than letting rumors spread and fester, but Erwin _knew_ he despised the attention. The alpha could have waited until they’d left or done it during a time when Levi wasn’t at the community tree, dammit.

“Three summers ago, the Maria Moonglow commune was razed to the ground in a tragic turn of events. The three survivors of this tragedy sought refuge here; a beta named Levi Ackerman, a beta named Isabel Magnolia, and an alpha named Farlan Church.”

“Levi came to us as a beta, with his own reasons for doing so. It is not my place to tell you why; he may reveal that if he wishes. However, if he does not want to do so, that is his right. He is a natural-born omega, and we only know that today because he has found his _asula._ ”

A few shocked whispers spread through the sprites; they’d suspected that the alpha was courting the omega, assumed that was why he’d followed Levi and his friends back. It was what Ymir had done with Historia after encountering the Skybound omega during a day patrol. For many, this was the first time they’d heard that Eren and Levi were _asulae,_ soul-halves.

It sent excitement through them; for alphas and omegas, being _asulae_ was considered extremely rare, but it was always a blessing when it did happen. It was something every sprite rejoiced at.

It was quite stunning; not only had the beta actually turned out to be an omega, and a Moonglow one at that, but he also had his _asula_. It was the most exciting thing that had happened in Rose in a long time, and it sent a titter of anticipation among them as they waited for Erwin to continue speaking.

“Eren is a sprite who was taken in by the Shiganshina Moonglow commune and is a former _valus_ ,” Erwin said, his deep voice ringing clear and strong over the dining area. His piercing blue eyes scanned his sprites and they fell silent at the words. _Valae_ were not exactly looked down upon, but many were feral and unpredictable. Erwin knew he had to spin Eren in as positive a light as possible. He chose his next words carefully, both to make Eren look dependable and brave while also giving his personal approval to ensure that the community would look upon him favorably.

“He valiantly helped Levi, Isabel and Farlan when they were attacked by an owl during one of their night flights. This is how they found each other. I have met with all of them and deemed Eren a trustworthy, honorable sprite and an alpha who is more than worthy to stand by Levi’s side. Therefore, as you may have all felt, he has been accepted into Rose with open arms. He is now one of us and is to be treated with all the respect and kindness that you would afford any other sprite.”

Heads were nodding now; Erwin had spun the story perfectly and many were glancing at Eren in approval. That he stopped to help the trio without even knowing that one was his fated bondmate showed his strength of character. Already, wings were waving in a silent applaud, sending scattering rays of dying sunlight across branches and leaves in a dazzling display.

Taking a deep breath, Erwin continued, dropping his next piece of news. He wasn’t sure how it would be received, considering Levi was a Moonglow omega and needed to be protected, but he was firm in his decision. It wasn’t easy for a sprite to be tapped as a Captain of the Scouts, much less skipping the Section Leader rank altogether as Levi had done in his previous community. Besides that, Erwin had seen Levi train and in action; his skills were excellent and he kept a level head in the couple of dangerous situations the Scouts had gotten into with birds or unfriendly other creatures of the forest.

Levi was perfect for the position. It was time for him to be able to step up and show what he could do in such a prestigious position. That thought firmly in mind, Erwin squared his shoulders and continued, his firm voice brooking no argument.

“As the Commander and Head Alpha of Rose, I also have chosen to make Levi the new Captain of the Scouts. He was to ascend this position shortly before the fall of Maria, and as the former Captain, Mike, will be migrating to Trost Skybound community at the end of the season, I feel that Levi will be more than capable of stepping up and serving as an excellent, trustworthy sprite to lead the Scouts.”

There were a stunned few gasps and Levi could feel numerous gazes upon him. His eye twitched in annoyance at Erwin suddenly putting the spotlight on him but other than that, his face gave nothing away. To his relief, there was no disapproval in the community; curiosity and a bit of nervousness considering his omega status, but most had seen Levi train before and could attest to his skills. They had witnessed his insane speed and agility, his skill with their paring blades. There was no argument that in terms of sheer talent, Levi was the one who should be stepping up for the promotion.

Erwin was pleased at the general feeling he sensed from the community. As all the sprites were linked to Rose through a Path, and he to it, Erwin was able to sense the overall mood. He found no dissatisfaction; a few worries made their way to him, but he could talk to those sprites and assuage their concerns separately.

“I ask that you do not push these two for information or try to pry,” Erwin said, also able to feel a healthy dose of curiosity through his Path to Rose. “Their pasts, feelings, and reasons for their actions are theirs, and theirs alone.” Erwin thumped his chest in a salute and gave a bright, proud smile. “To our new _asulae-_ bound pair; our newest alpha, Eren, and new spearhead of the Rose Scouts, Captain Levi!”

A cheer went through the sprites and as much as Levi wanted to shrink away from the attention, he forced himself to sit still and nod at Erwin. The alpha was beaming, oblivious to how uncomfortable Levi was. The alpha looked rather like a proud father, and Levi couldn’t begrudge him the happiness.

Eren seemed to pick up on Levi’s discomfort easily, however. His hand reached across the space between their cushions and he placed it softly atop Levi’s, giving long, thin fingers a squeeze. The omega jolted slightly at the unexpected touch and he looked to Eren questioningly.

“You’ll make a fantastic Captain,” Eren said quietly as the cheers died down and Erwin returned to his seat. “Everyone is proud of you. _I’m_ proud of you.”

And he could tell Eren truly was. His lovely teal eyes were warm and bright as he looked over to Levi with fond affection and pride shining in them. Levi felt a small swell of emotion within him that only grew the longer the alpha stared at him with that pleased, happy glint. The warmth he felt in his chest when he looked at the sprite sparked a feeling that he hadn’t truly felt in this sort of overwhelming capacity before.

If he wasn’t before, he was truly and well onto his way of falling deeply, irrevocably in love with Eren. The knowledge made something within his soul spark, and he knew Eren felt it too by the way his eyes widened and his gentle smile turned into a broad, happy grin.

It was a familiar feeling, the warmth and lightness he was feeling right now. He could sense the community’s acceptance and excitement for him. Eren’s bright smile, the proudness displayed openly on his face and Hanji’s excited chattering, the way Erwin had looked upon him with affection…

It was strangely familiar, like he’d experienced this before.

And then, it hit him with shocking clarity; it was just like the night at Maria, the one before he lost everything.

Eren was looking at him just like Kuchel had, quiet pride and affection gleaming in her eyes as she looked at her son. And then the next day, everything had been ripped form him, his future shattered in one fell swoop. Had his mother known at the time; was she prepared for her karma to be fulfilled now that her wish had been granted?

Levi couldn’t afford to lose Eren.

It would break him, shatter him in ways that wouldn’t ever be able to repaired. He’d lose half of his soul if Eren’s light were to be extinguished.

“Join the Scouts.”

Levi’s voice was fervent and quiet; judging by the thick, furrowed eyebrows, he knew that Eren had smelled his anxiety and couldn’t figure out the source. His eyes were worried and – fuck, Eren just cared so much, Levi would crack and splinter and fall into pieces if he were to never see that bright teal gaze again.

“I’ll handle your training,” Levi said, eyes widening as panic threatened to spark within him. “We’ll work on building up your stamina and endurance for longer flights, teach you how to fight with our blades. I don’t know what you used before you came to Rose, but with these you’ll always be prepared.”

Eren’s eyes widened as he realized why Levi was so anxious; the last time this had happened, he’d lost his family and many of his friends, along with his home. This was Levi’s way of trying to take care of him, prepare him in case something did ever happen again. He relaxed back and focused on sending out soothing, calming pheromones. It was strange that Levi worried about him when Eren would gladly give his life for the omega’s.

“I’ll join the Scouts, Levi,” Eren nodded, giving him a reassuring smile. He knew it was the right thing to say when Levi let out a slow, relieved breath, some of the anxiety dying from his eyes. “I’ll be upset if you go easy on me, _Captain Levi, sir.”_

The title sent a thrill of delight through him and something curled hot and heavy deep within him. He could tell Eren could sense it as well, because the alpha smirked knowingly.

Well, that was definitely going down in the record books as a kink to explore, Levi thought with some amusement before he pushed the thought away. How embarrassing it would be for his aroused scent to make it to the entirety of the gathered community.

Worries soothed for the moment, Levi basked in the soothing ocean and sunshine scent the alpha was giving off, designed to calm anxious or frightened omegas. He let the sense of contentment bask over him as he briefly considered the events of the past day.

How strange it was that his life had gone such a drastic change; yesterday at this time, he was just heading off to training, glamour masking him and that infuriating itch of wanderlust in his soul clawing at him. He hadn’t been sad, but he also hadn’t been happy either; Levi had been going through the motions day after day without feeling true contentment or joy.

And now tonight, he had a sprite he cared for, perhaps even loved at his side, his previous dream of becoming Captain rekindled and realized, the approval of his entire community at him being an omega making even his wings feel light with joy.

He bit his lip as he glanced over at Eren, who was lost deep within conversation with Hanji.

He could. He could bridge that gap.

Slowly, Levi let his head drop to the side, eyes sliding shut as he carefully rested his head against Eren’s shoulder. It made Eren stiffened for a moment, but then as he realized what it was, the scent of a pleased, protective alpha surrounded Levi and he knew it was the right decision.

Hanji was looking at him with an awed expression; what had he _done_ to Levi?

Either way, it made her happy to see the usually gruff omega so relaxed and serene-looking, faint hints of warm lavender and delicious honey wafting along in the air. Others seemed to have sensed it as well, because a quiet, relaxed air had fallen over the sprites. They talked in hushed tones as they waited for the sunset, a few groups rising to their feet and drifting over to the railing surrounding the platform for a better look.

“Eren,” Levi said softly. He brushed the tip of his wing against the alpha’s shoulder, “It’s time. Look.”

Eren’s eyes followed over to where the omega was pointing, and his eyes widened.

He’d seen the sunsets here before, but nothing could compare to the one he was witnessing right now. As a human, the thick cover of trees had made it hard to really appreciate the sunset, but now, seeing it from the very top of the canopy, it was breathtaking. The sun was just setting over a distant mountain and over the horizon, a rainbow of soft reds, yellows, and oranges flared across the sky.

The light had lessened enough so that Levi could look at the sunset without it hurting his eyes too much and at Eren’s soft gasp, Levi looked over. His heart swelled a bit at seeing Eren’s awed expression. The fading sunlight cast the world in a soft golden hue; it gave Eren’s bronzed skin an almost golden cast and the light reflected in his bright teal eyes, making them almost shimmer in the gentle light.

Eren looked so handsome like this, Levi thought, pride welling up. Eren was _his._ The universe had made Eren specifically for him, and he felt a rush of emotion at the thought. Suddenly, he was eager for his heat to come, to experience it with someone he cared deeply about and finally be bonded to Eren.

Together, they watched the sunset quietly, warm affection lacing the air as they sat in awed silence and basking in each other’s presence.

“Wow,” Eren breathed as the sky started to turn purple with the hint of night falling. He looked over at Levi, a soft, affectionate smile pulling his lips up. “That was breathtaking, Levi. Thank you,” he said sincerely.

 _You’re breathtaking_ , is what Levi wanted to say, but words didn’t come. Instead, he simply nodded and Eren’s wings waved a few times, brushing over Levi’s in an affectionate caress. It was nice, sitting here like this. Eren’s scent had turned warmer with contentment as they watched the sunset, reminding Levi of a warm, sunny day with a fresh ocean spray.

The chatter from Erwin’s impromptu speech had died down as the community gathered at the railing to catch a glimpse of the sunset. However, as darkness started to slowly fall, they wandered slowly back to their tables or took off from the landing platform to return to their hollows. The sprites of Rose finished up the remnants of their meals while chatting and catching up. Often, he could hear his own name being said quietly in conversation, along with Eren’s

The back of his neck prickled and he could feel eyes on him periodically. It made him want to fidget in agitation, but he tamped down the urge.

“Hey, there’s Historia and Sasha,” Eren said, breaking away from his talk with Hanji. “Ah, sorry, Hanji, I’ll be right back. I want to thank her for the food and discuss something with Historia.” The healer just nodded, more than happy to turn her chatter onto Levi, and the alpha paused for a moment to look down at the other sprite. “I’ll be back in a minute,” Eren said, warm affection lacing his tone. “Do you want anything?”

“I don’t think it’s physically possible for me to eat anything else,” Levi admitted. He felt full but not uncomfortably so. Eren had mentioned talking to Historia, and in the back of his mind, he wondered what the alpha would need to discuss with her. Eren seemed excited, however, and so Levi just made a mental note to ask once he returned.

Eren nodded, a certain glint of anticipation lighting up within his teal eyes. “Alright. I’ll be back.” He stood and before he left, brushed his wrist gently over the scent gland on Levi’s neck. Instinctively, he tilted his neck, and a low sound of approval came from the back of Eren’s throat as he rubbed the scented oils from his gland over Levi’s.

It helped calm his frazzled omega, which had grown tense under the stares. Levi was grateful, even as he grew annoyed by the increasing number of watchers.

Eren gave him a somewhat dopey smile and flicked his wings against Levi’s before he turned and bounded off, making a beeline for Sasha and Historia, who were chatting quietly by the railing.

At the gesture, more sprites turned to look at him and he could practically feel their smiles and short nods of approval.

It made Levi’s skin itch, being the direct focus of so many stares. It felt like his every movement was being picked apart and analyzed, reminded him of the way he’d felt when Eren hovered the magnifying glass over him. Levi felt raw and exposed and his wings twitched in agitation without the calming presence of the alpha.

Hanji’s inane chatter was background noise that instantly stopped as soon as he stood up, taking a deep, calming breath. “I’m going to get some water. Tell Eren I’ll be right back,” Levi murmured, needing to get away from the gathered sprites for a minute.

“Sure thing, _Captain_ ,” Hanji grinned, ignoring the unimpressed glare Levi shot her. Shaking his head, he rose from the cushion and made his way towards the ledge, nodding when the random sprite offered a congratulations or inclined their head every so often.

He stepped off the ledge and dove down, past the cooking level until he reached one of the platforms used for community work projects such as weaving or sewing. Aside from a few small groups of sprites, the level was empty and afforded Levi a small measure of privacy.

He sighed in relief and dropped down onto the wood platform, closing his wings behind him.

It was quiet down here and Levi leaned against the railing, taking a deep breath at the reprieve from the attentions of the other sprites. He couldn’t fault them for what they felt, but it felt good to get away from the prying eyes and curious stares. 

His relief was short-lived, however, as he saw a large, blonde sprite approaching him out of the corner of his eye. Discreetly, he sniffed; the smell of leather and petrichor seemed familiar to him somehow, but he couldn’t place it.

The bearded sprite stopped a respectful distance away from him and inclined his head. “Levi, right?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Levi nodded. The sprite had glasses on, made from a thin, warped sheet of clear quartz; there weren’t many sprites who wore glasses and suddenly, he remembered who the sprite was. “You’re with the other two who came to Rose a few seasons ago, right?” Levi said, brows drawing together just a bit as he struggled to recall the alpha’s name. “Zeke.”

“That’s correct,” he smiled. “I came with Reiner and Bertholdt from the Liberio Sunlight community.” Introductions made, he stepped closer and clasped his hands behind his back, head inclining as he made his request. “I was wondering if I could have a moment of your time. The celebration of Bertholdt’s hatching day is soon, and I’d be honored if you would do a light display on the occasion.”

Zeke’s voice was neutral and polite, making Levi unconsciously relax. Being around alphas aside from Eren this close to his heat set his omega on edge, but Zeke didn’t. He could probably smell that Levi was on the cusp of it and therefore, he respectfully kept his distance. He didn’t scent Levi and showed no interest in his omega status. When Zeke made the request his face softened.

It had been ages since he’d been able to use his magic for that purpose. Doing a display at the Summer Gathering had been the highlight of the season for him, and immediately, Levi nodded in assent. “Haven’t done one in awhile, but sure, I’d be happy to.” Levi glanced at the upper levels, still hearing some excited chatter from where the sprites were gathered. His omega didn’t like being so far from Eren, but he wasn’t worried. Eren could follow his scent and find him if Levi being gone bothered him too much, and it would give him time to discuss a display with Zeke. “We can talk about it for a hop.”

“Excellent. I don’t want either of them to see me talking to you and figuring out the surprise, so let’s get a bit out of the way,” Zeke suggested, gesturing towards his two companions who sat on the other side of the platform. They looked to be weaving a rug from some extra strands of grass and had their backs to Levi and Zeke. “If you’re uncomfortable, I can wait until a better time, however,” he added on, still keeping a distance away.

Levi flicked his wings thoughtfully before he shook his head. “No, it’s fine. The platform just on the other side of the tree should be empty, we can talk there,” Levi said, gesturing to the ledge.

Swiftly, they made their way and as they hopped up and flitted around to the other side of the ledge, Zeke smiled gently. “I wanted to congratulate you on finding your _asula_ , by the way. It’s not often such a thing happens.”

“Yeah, didn’t think it would happen to me, either,” Levi said as they rounded the tree. The platform on this side was indeed empty. Shadowed by a few branches, it was a bit dark as the sun was well on its way to dropping over the horizon. Levi remembered the soft smile Eren had given him as they watched the myriad of colors spread over the sky and a warm contentment filled his chest. “The universe is funny like that.”

They dropped down onto the platform and Zeke turned to Levi, smile morphing into one that appeared just a bit sharper. “The universe? Or did the _stars_ give you the opportunity to find your _asula_?”

Levi froze. An icy chill ran down his back.

“What?” he asked, eyes going wide as he stepped back, wings flicking. It was dark and his eyes went silver and luminous as his night vision triggered, letting him see in perfect clarity the keen, knowing look Zeke shot him. “I don’t know what you mean,” Levi said, eyes narrowing as he started to back away.

The words and Zeke’s canny look were making him uncomfortable; every one of his senses were tingling, telling him to leave, because…

Zeke _knew._ He had to. He wouldn’t have mentioned the stars if he didn’t.

“C’mon, Levi. Let’s drop the pretense. Why don’t you tell me _exactly_ how you found your _asula_?” Zeke said, voice still perfectly level as he stepped closer to Levi.

“It’s none of your _fucking_ business,” Levi hissed, wings spreading with the intent to hop up and fly away.

Until Zeke suddenly snapped out a hand and grabbed his horn.

Levi remembered the last time his horn had been grabbed, but it had felt so much different. Right now, all he could feel was pure panic and anger as his body stopped moving, the immobilizing effect instantaneous. His muscles started going limp and his wings drooped.

His knees started to buckle a bit and Zeke carefully turned him around in order to prop his back against the trunk of the community tree. From anyone else, it might have been a thoughtful gesture if they _weren’t holding his fucking horn_.

He’d just wanted to discuss some Moon-damned light and illusions; was this what he got for trying to be nice? How had Zeke even guessed that he was Startouched anyway? Hanji said there had been no one outside Erwin’s hollow, and there was nothing about Levi that could have even hinted he was Touched. Had he overheard and if so, how?

The walls of Erwin’s hollow were thick, there should have been no way their voices carried through it. 

Levi hissed hatefully through his teeth at the quiet, infuriating chuckle that followed as Zeke pushed on his shoulder to make him lean up against the smooth bark.

As Levi leaned against the bark, a telltale shimmer enveloped Zeke. In mixed fury and disbelief, Levi watched as the glamour that had surrounded him faded away.

The reddish horns bled into dark blue, the telltale Sunlight prongs melding together into flanges. His previously pale green and blue wings turned darker, until they were a deep, oceanic blue with ripples of red streaking through them. His markings bled from the curls and swoops of a Sunlight sprite into ones that were sharper, reminded Levi of cresting waves and the ripples the surf left upon the sand.

He looked so similar to Eren that Levi couldn’t deny it.

 _Fuck._ Zeke was like Eren; a Tidalwave sprite. A myriad of questions swirled within his mind, but the first and foremost were what was a masked Tidalwave was doing here, and _how_ had be masked his race so effectively?

Most importantly, _where_ had he gotten the glamour? Unless…

Levi had hidden his own nature for so long and with success. Was it possible either Reiner or Bertholdt was secretly an omega? They’d have to be Moonglow to spin an illusion of this magnitude and strength. It was hard enough to disguise one as another dynamic, but another race altogether?

It wasn’t impossible, but it was tricky to get right and required it to reapplied constantly.

How the fuck had they done it?

“That’s interesting. I’ve heard about the effect that grabbing an omega’s horns had, but I’ve never seen it up close.” The large hand wrapped around it gave it a testing jerk and Levi’s knees went weak, threatening to make him fall. Through sheer strength of will he stayed upright, gritting his teeth to fight against the paralyzation. “Hm. This is quite dangerous for you, isn’t it?”

Zeke’s voice was clinical and detached, yet there was a subtle thread of curiosity that made Levi want to bare his teeth.

God, he was tired of hearing that. And he was more than tired of having them grabbed, even if Eren had done it by accident. Not having control of his body was infuriating, and the fact that this fucking alpha thought he had the _right_ just served to fuel his rage.

He let out a guttural snarl the ripped through the air between them. It was a sound that was unnatural for an omega, but Levi had never considered himself normal.

It was cut off as the hand gripped his horn more tightly and small shudder rippled through his body. Somewhere deep inside of him, something sparked at the firm hold and unbidden, unwelcome fire struck him like a lightning strike, racing through his body.

His eyes widened at the feel; it had been a long, long time since he’d felt it, but it was unmistakable.

Heat.

“I could smell that you were close to your heat, but I didn’t think you were close enough that a simple grab of your horn could kickstart it,” Zeke hummed, sounding completely unaffected.

A low, angry growl that pitched up to a panicked whine escaped from him, and in response, the blonde alpha responded with a croon that did nothing but make Levi panic more, because it was _wrong_ , the wrong pitch and cadence and the alpha he wanted at all.

“You… fucker…” Levi slurred out, finding it hard to move his lips. His wings twitched weakly, legs jerking as he tried to move, to get away, but Zeke ignored it. He loomed over Levi, blue eyes watching with interest as Levi tried to move, tugging at the horn a bit more just to see the shocked sound escape from full lips.

Omegas were fascinating creatures, completely driven and slaves to the demands of their biology. This one, the fake beta, was apparently no different, though Zeke was a bit disappointed. He’d seemed stronger than the rest, though he supposed that there was no fighting off a nervous system response, so he shouldn’t judge too much.

If anything, this one was pretty; Zeke liked watching him struggle against the immobility response, was shocked he stayed on his feet for as long as had. But the combined heat and grip on his horn made the omega’s body limp and he watched passively as the omega slid slowly down to the ground, doing his absolute best to stay sitting up against the tree.

His silvered grey eyes were narrowed and he could smell the bitter, acrid scent of angry omega, the sweet lavender and nightshade turning burnt and ashy. Maybe it was the heat, but there was still something nice about the smell, too.

Zeke decided he liked this omega. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to hold him here for long, because it went against his every instinct to allow a heating omega to lie here in pain.

But Zeke’s mission came before his baser instincts; he’d spent a lifetime conquering and suppressing them. With that firmly in mind, he pushed away his alpha’s desire to help and protect the vulnerable omega at his feet.

“You know, I wonder if the Commander is aware that there’s a hole in the walls of his hollow,” Zeke said, as he crouched in front of Levi. His tone was almost conversational, and Levi had never hated anything more in that moment than he did the alpha’s voice. “Makes voices very easy to hear if one has the patience to hover near it for a bit. I overheard something interesting when I stayed to listen after the Earthshatter healer sent everyone away.”

He stared right into Levi’s silver eyes coolly, and Levi felt something akin to dread settle into his chest. Zeke _knew_. He’d been listening, the fucking blonde _creep_.

“I was rather shocked when you admitted to being Startouched so easily; my surprise when I found out that there’s an entire family of them was immeasurable.” Levi’s strength was starting to come back now that the hold on his horn had disappeared and Levi sneered.

“T’fuck… d’you wan’?” Levi mumbled, eyes slipping closed.

It was strange; Zeke did nothing more than crouch over him, keeping him still with that infuriating, insulting grapple on his horn. The alpha didn’t even smell interested; the scent coming from him was neutral and calm, blue eyes looking at him with nothing more than a calculating interest.

It seemed like Zeke had no intention of assaulting him, but that did nothing to assuage his panic, though if anything, it made him angrier. In a twisted way, he could have understood his actions if that had been his intention; there were few other reasons to grab an omega’s horn in a secluded corner, anyway.

Instead, it seemed that Zeke wanted something from the Startouched, enough to lure him into a secluded area and grab his horn, an action that would get him exiled from the community.

Apparently, he was too afraid of retaliation to try to subdue him in any way.

 _He should be_ , Levi thought furiously. If it weren’t for his fucking dynamic’s bullshit biology, he’d have ripped this sprite’s heart out and made him eat it already.

“I want the wish. I’d have you use yours, but apparently, you’ve already used it. I didn’t catch your last name, but once I get it, I can look for others of your family and find out if they’re Startouched.”

Levi’s eyes widened before his face twitched, trying to form a derisive sneer.

He was the last true Ackerman omega.

Unless he had a female child, or there were other pure-blooded Ackermans elsewhere in the world, he’d remain the last.

Their blood lived on in the other Moonglow sprites, and he knew a few of them had Ackerman blood, diluted though it was. There was another Ackerman in a community a distance away, though the girl was too young to present. Her mother had been an omega, but his mother, Kuchel had told him their family blood was diluted enough that the girl being Startouched was extremely low.

As with any other omega with Ackerman blood, the chances of one being born with a connection to the stars was improbable, but not impossible.

Either way, the girls’ presentation was a long time off, but he got the feeling this bearded asshole didn’t want to wait that long. A gut-wrenching cramp started in his stomach and it made him gasp, fingers twitching.

Fuck, he needed Eren, needed the alpha’s presence and contact to soothe the pain wracking his body and heart curling unpleasantly through him.

“It’s getting pretty bad, right?” Zeke said, sounding almost sympathetic. “Tell me and I’ll let you go so you can have your alpha help you out. If you don’t, well… I’m pretty patient. I could take you away and keep this up. Since you’ve found your _asula_ , it won’t relent until you’ve bonded them.”

Levi’s eyes widened at that; nothing had ever been mentioned about that. It would have been hell on earth, but Levi had made it through a heat before; he could have made it through this one and not told this horn-grabbing asshole anything.

But even his body wasn’t infallible; it couldn’t sustain a never-ending heat. It would take longer than Zeke thought, but Levi knew that under the unrelenting heat, his body would slowly give out.

 _If_ he was telling the truth, though. It could be something Zeke made up just to get him to talk. Even as another shudder ran through him, temperature spiking and pain crashing through his body, Levi still managed to glare icily at him.

Zeke smiled almost patronizingly in the face of that withering glare, as if sensing Levi’s thoughts. “I’m not lying, if that’s what you’re thinking. We Tidalwave sprites, few though we are, have kept meticulous records on sprite lore. Strange that you seem to be unaware, but then again, from what I’ve seen, none of you kept records.” He sighed. “What a shame, all that knowledge lost to the ages.”

Levi hissed in response, teeth gritting together. Levi could feel the glands at his neck starting to produce heavy amounts of oil in an attempt to call out to his chosen alpha, to lure him in with the scent and pheromones of a cycling, receptive omega.

As Zeke got a deep breath of it, his nose wrinkled and sighed. He couldn’t deny that it smelled good, alluring even, but he really had no interest in this omega.

In a way, the heat made it easier to coerce the omega to tell him what he wanted to know. When he’d mentioned that the heat wouldn’t abate until he was bonded to his alpha, the sheer panic flashing over that pale face had clued him in to just how badly off the omega already was. The sheer amount of oil glossing over the slim neck showed how desperate his body was, calling out to the alpha in every way possible and Zeke felt a bit of pity for the poor creature before him.

“Look. I don’t enjoy having to do this,” he said, tone soothing and gentle; it was the type one would use on a feral animal and Levi _hated_ being treated with such pity by the person causing his pained state. “It’s going against my very nature to do so, but I’ve been searching for any hint of the Startouched for a long time. I just want your family name and to know if there are any other Startouched. There are other colonies far away from here; tell me what I want to know, and I’ll leave to them and never come back here.”

He eased up on the grip slightly, enough for Levi to have an easier time speaking. “What do… you want the wish… for?”

“Long ago, when I was a fledgling, an illness swept through our population. We had traveled and settled down far away from any other community, seeking privacy and solace. When the plague struck, were unable to get help before our population was decimated,” Zeke sighed, and the sadness in his eyes would have sparked Levi’s sympathy at any other time, but fury still ran through him. “Not only is my own race nearly gone, but our omegas are as well; we have so few left. We are so close to losing the link to our magic, to my people vanishing from the earth.” Zeke’s grip on his horn loosened just a bit and Levi felt some strength coming back to his body, enough for him to speak with only a little difficulty. “I need the wish, the power of the stars, to allow our omegas to bear children more easily, and if possible, alter our dynamics enough to allow betas to bear omegas as well. It’s the only way the Tidalwave will survive.”

Levi’s eyes widened and an icy chill raced down his spine. Zeke was either insane or ignorant to how the Startouch wish worked.

Because a wish of that magnitude… changing the bodies of multiple sprites, rewriting fate as betas and omegas bore children they weren’t meant to have…

“Do you even _know_ how the wish works?” Levi spat. “Do you know about the karma that it inflicts, the debt we have to pay to change the _very fate of the world_?”

Zeke shook his head. “No. Even in our records, there wasn’t much information to be found on the Startouched. All I know about is the wish. I’ve been searching my entire life for a Startouched, tracking down every lead and joining community after community in search of one.”

Levi’s eyes closed as he fought back the panic surging through him, gasping through another gut-wrenching cramp. Fuck, this was _bad._

“When we use a wish, the balance has to be reset,” Levi hissed, pain shooting through his stomach. “We gain a karma that has to be repaid. My mother and community died just to change _my_ fate; a single sprite,” he said, voice starting to rise in anger until he was shouting. “What do you think is gonna happen if that wish alters not just one, but _multiple_ sprites? It would be a karma that wouldn’t be able to be balanced! You’d be damning-”

He was cut off as Zeke squeezed his horn, growling lowly. “Shut up,” he hissed, shoving his face close to Levi’s. “I don’t care about the repercussions. Our race is almost dead. What choice do I have?”

 _Let them die out, you insufferable buffoon_ , Levi thought furiously, body going limp. Heat arced through his body and he shuddered through another cramp, his omega crying out for relief, for something to soothe the blistering heat that made him feel like he was going to combust.

Unable to help himself, Levi parted his lips, a high, warbling keen escaping his throat as his omega cried out.

He wanted Eren, _needed_ Eren, where was -

A low, feral, absolutely _furious_ growl rent the air and Levi’s cry cut off; it was replaced with a seeking trill, calling out desperately to owner of that growl.

He could have cried out in relief as he was answered with a guttural snarl that had a hint of a croon to it. Crooning to him, telling Levi he was here, it was alright, don’t worry.

Levi bit back a sob, because it was the perfect pitch, the right cadence and a sound that was purely Eren.

 _Eren_. Eren had found him.

Levi rolled his eyes over and shuddered at what he saw. Eren's wings were flared all the way out, aqua rippling like an ocean wave as his entire body trembled in fury. His lips were curled back over his teeth, claws unsheathed to their fullest extent and his eyes were blazing alpha gold.

Eren was absolutely mad with fury. It was the most beautiful sight Levi had ever seen.

His eyes flicked between Levi and Zeke, lingering for a moment on the hold that the blonde alpha had on Levi’s horn. His alpha was absolutely thrashing in fury upon seeing the way Zeke was looming over his omega, at the sour scent of panic, anger, and fear that soured and embittered Levi’s usually sweet scent, making it smell like wilted, burning lavender. It hung heavy in the air, blanketing the platform in a heavy fog and made Eren nearly lose the tenuous hold he had on his enraged instincts.

The seeking call that Levi let out, trying to draw him closer, to help his omega made him prowl closer, wings flapping heavily in agitation.

“You’re a Tidalwave sprite,” Zeke murmured, disregarding the absolutely feral look on Eren's face. Zeke’s eyes were wide, expression shocked, because this was the first time he’d actually seen Eren in person. “But how… I know all of those that are left of our race. How… where did you come from?”

He stepped forward, inadvertently stepping on one of Levi’s limp wings. Pain raced through his wing like wildfire and Levi howled, wings suddenly jerking to life, adrenaline cancelling out the immobility response. They flailed, instinctively trying to get free of whatever was trapping and causing them pain.

While their sensitivity was extremely useful for sensing air currents, the amount of nerves running through the appendages was numerous, every feeling and touch amplified. Zeke’s bulk pressing it into the rough bark sent white-hot pain racing through him, only worsened as his wings flailed and a rip started in the corner, tearing through the thin, delicate skin. Levi’s back arched and his body shuddered, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes.

Zeke jerked at the pain-filled howl, stepping back with a startled sound. Shit, hadn’t meant to _hurt_ the omega. 

The sound of Levi in pain caused something to snap within Eren and with a roar, he leapt forwards, using his wings to propel himself forwards. His vision tunneled until all he could see was Zeke, his alpha howling and thrashing with the insane desire to rip the blonde alpha apart.

Zeke may have been shocked, but he wasn’t stupid. In a swift movement, his claws were out and he was bringing his arms up to shield his neck and face. Eren crashed into Zeke, sending them both to the ground. He was snarling and hissing as he bit down furiously, trying to get to Zeke’s neck and tear his jugular.

Twisting and frantically trying to push the enraged alpha off of him, Zeke reared his head back and sunk his canines into Eren's shoulder. Eren howled as Zeke latched on, adrenaline surging through him and he barely felt the pain. Furious, Eren brought his knee up and slammed Zeke in the gut, making the alpha wheeze and let go of his mouthful of shoulder.

Growling, Eren brought his knee back and swung it around, trying to pin the other alpha down, but while Zeke was winded, he was still very much able to move. He slipped from Eren’s grip and rose to his feet. Eren did so as well, crouching before he leapt at Zeke again, only for the more clear-headed alpha to twist his body and meet Eren head-on, using his shoulder to plow into Eren’s chest.

The move knocked Eren off his feet and sent him skidding across the ground. His head hit a post of the wooden railing, stunning him for just a moment. He saw Zeke rise to his feet and stagger towards Levi.

Immediately, his alpha went wild with rage again. All he could see was Levi writhing on the ground in pain and another alpha walking towards him, and his vision became suffused with red.

Zeke had hoped the blow would stun Eren long enough for him to grab Levi and fly off, keep the dark-haired sprite somewhere secluded enough to get information out of him. All he wanted was for the omega to answer some _fucking_ questions.

He’d grab Levi and keep him just long enough to get his answers, then he’d let the omega go. It wasn’t that difficult, and anger clouded Zeke’s vision as he reached out once more for the omega’s short black horn, intent on dragging him away.

Instead, he was barreled into from the side in a whirlwind of wings, fangs and claws. It pushed him back and then he was desperately fending off a series of fast, enraged attacks.

Levi desperately tried to call up his magic, but his mind was a scattered mess of adrenaline and pain. His glow flickered feebly as the magic kept slipping out of his grasp. He gasped with the effort, the searing pain in his wing and the sudden blazing heat burning through him making it impossible to think.

The adrenaline had burnt though his immobility response, but everything hurt, and it was impossible to focus.

Levi knew he needed to heal his wing, needed contact with his alpha in order to lower his body temperature and stop the cramping in his gut, but there was no way he could communicate that.

Instead, he closed his eyes, trying and failing to force his magic into his grasp, listening distantly to the two snarling and hissing alphas.

Eren was crouched low, golden eyes blazing. The two alphas circled one another, one mad with fury and the other on defense, trying desperately to figure some way out of this situation. The moment Zeke turned his back and tried to flee, Eren would be on him and there would be no defending from the claws and teeth that wanted to shred his flesh.

If he could get to the edge, he could fall off, twist, and get away, Zeke knew. It would put Eren close to Levi and perhaps the alpha would turn to help the omega, allowing him to escape.

Baring his teeth in order to bait Eren, he made a lunge to the side and Eren responded in kind, traveling closer to the shuddering omega. Zeke slowly circled, pushing Eren closer to Levi. Finally, his back was to the omega and to draw his attention, he feinted and then rushed to the right, making Eren turn just a bit and put Levi in his line of sight.

Growling, Eren shifted to put himself right in front of Levi, wings flapping furiously as they spread to hide the omega from view.

Shit. Eren knew Levi was there. He knew the omega was hurt but not gravely injured, and Zeke knew his chances of getting out of this unscathed were slim. His mind raced, going through possible options and avenues of attack.

Levi could sense Eren in front of him and thought it took effort, he slid his eyelids open to see Eren's feet right in front of him. A boot had flown off in the initial scuffle leaving one of his feet bare.

Levi’s hazy eyes locked onto Eren's ankle, and something within him called out to him, telling him to reach out and touch that bare skin. Feebly, still trying to grasp his scattered magic, Levi drug his arm out, gritting his teeth as he kept pushing. His fingers stretched out and he bared his teeth, growling quietly with the effort.

Zeke didn’t see what was happening until it was too late; just before Levi was close enough to brush the tips of his fingers over Eren's exposed ankle, his eyes widened.

“NO!” he shouted, reaching out in disbelief. Right as he did, Levi clenched his jaw and pushed, finally pressing the tips of his fingers against Eren's skin, connecting them.

It felt like an electric shock.

Eren jolted, eyes widening as he suddenly felt Levi in every single cell and fibre of his being. Levi’s consciousness rushed into him, the omega’s presence enveloping him like a warm blanket. He couldn’t tell where Levi began and Eren ended, knew Levi was feeling the exact same thing.

The glow flickering weakly around Levi and through his marks strengthened as the alpha and omega connected, flaring brightly. Eren's strength gave Levi the will he needed to call up his magic, and he grasped it as it rose, calling it to the surface. Swiftly, the glow spread from Levi to Eren, lighting up the alpha’s marks as the magic traveled through them. The wound on his shoulder sealed shut in a matter of seconds, bruises fading and the ringing in his head and ears dissipating as Levi’s consciousness slid along his body, seeing out any hurts and wounds to heal them.

Without words, Levi communicated what he needed to do to Eren and without hesitating, Eren slid his foot back closer to Levi and fed the omega power and will through their bond. It gave Levi the strength to push his arm higher, wrapping his fingers around Eren's ankle and holding on with everything he had.

Zeke watched in horror for all of one second before he turned and flung himself off the ledge, intent on getting away as quickly and as fast as possible. With knowledge came a grave understanding of what was about to happen, and fear made him swift as he began fleeing.

“ _No_ ,” Eren growled, his voice layered and furious. The feel of magic surging up to him was foreign, the way his awareness spread and sought out his attunement to the water of the world, but Levi fed him knowledge and coached him through it wordlessly. He could feel every drop of water, every brook and river in the immediate area and while his link to them was weak, they answered readily, curious at the new and strange call that Eren’s being put out.

Eren brought up an arm and right as Zeke flew over the stream, long, thick tendrils of water from the stream shot up and snatched Zeke out of the air. They wrapped around Zeke’s writhing form as he tried to break free, holding him immobile in the air as the flowing tendrils wrapped around him like a boa constrictor, enveloping him from neck to toe.

Eren's alpha howled in pleasure at the sight, lost in bloodlust. The thought of another sprite daring to lay even a finger on Levi, much less grab his horn or step on his wing and causing him an immeasurable amount of pain fueled his rage and drove his inner alpha mad. The alpha’s bloodlust egged him on, feeding his wrath and Eren brought a hand up slowly, letting the blonde alpha see what he was doing.

With a feral smile, Eren closed his fist. Zeke screamed as the tendrils began constricting around him until he could do nothing more than choke, bones breaking and grinding under the terrible pressure of the water’s tendrils. Eren watched in pleasure as the alpha turned purple, blood starting to trickle from his nose as his sounds grew fainter and fainter.

“E…nough…” Levi whispered hoarsely. At the faint sound of his omega’s voice, Eren immediately turned his head to look at the collapsed omega. Through their bond, Eren could feel what Levi was telling him. It wasn’t words, more thoughts and feeling, _intent_ that Eren understood perfectly.

They needed Zeke alive, to question him and learn what happened to the Tidalwave sprites, where he gained the knowledge he possessed.

It rankled him to not kill the weak, spineless alpha, but Eren couldn’t deny a request from his omega. Eren nodded shortly and with a jerk of his arm, the tendrils unwrapped Zeke and flung him onto the platform at their feet.

Zeke coughed feebly, unable to move as pain coursed through his body.

 _Good_ , both Eren and his alpha snarled. There was the overwhelming desire to crush the alpha beneath his heel, grind him into the ground and make him bed for forgiveness before he tore Zeke’s throat out and he almost succumbed to it when a low, quiet keen reached his ears.

Eren froze and immediately the anger drained out of him, replaced with sheer panic and the urgent desire to go to his omega. It wasn’t even a decision; there was no other option in his mind than to go to Levi, to bundle him up, lick his wounds and keep him safe and protected.

Levi lay on the ground, feebly trying to push up to his hands, but failing. The heat and aftershocks of pain made his muscles weak and so he rested on one elbow as he gathered his strength, calling up the reserves that Eren had fed through their bond. Levi knew his breathing was too fast and too shallow, but his omega’s instincts were going haywire and he’d never felt more helpless than he did at that moment, panting in shock, his torn wing jerking and twitching helplessly.

He was strong-willed and could usually push through most pain, but this was different, more nauseating and sharper than any he’d felt before. He had to heal it; mend it before it grew worse and he couldn’t fly again, and that thought made his panic spike, a pained, frightened trill rising up through his throat.

Eren dropped to his knees beside him, a low, broken croon coming from his throat. With trembling hands, he gently gathered Levi up and pressed him carefully against his chest. The sour, acrid scent of pained omega made another growl rip through him before he shook it off when Levi gasped.

Cooing and warbling lowly, Eren reached out to brush his wrist over the scent gland on Levi’s neck, mixing their oils. The intermingling scents helped to calm Levi’s omega, and as the oils from Eren’s wrist soaked into his gland, his panic abated. He couldn’t quell the shaking as another wave of heat crashed through him, but much less intense than before now that contact with his alpha had been reestablished. His skin cooled and sanity returned as Eren nuzzled his hair almost frantically, rubbing his throat over whatever parts of Levi he could reach.

“’M okay,” Levi whispered, sighing a bit. “Wing’s ripped,” he rasped, throat dry and parched. “Need Hanji to clean it ‘fore I can fix it.” He didn’t know if any dirt or bark had gotten into the wound, and though it trembled and burned in pain, he refused to heal it until it was perfectly clean. The tear wasn’t too large, but the way his wing continued to twitch and how hard it was to curl, he was worried that there was nerve or muscle damage.

“Eren,” he whispered and immediately the alpha bent his head to hear Levi better, the entirety of his devoted focus on the omega. “Get me to Hanji or call for her. I…” He gasped as his stomach clenched again, and he could feel slick starting to wet his hole. “We need help,” he finished. “To deal with Zeke.”

Eren growled at the name, but then the omega’s need for help registered and fear spiked again. How badly was Levi hurt?

A bit out of his mind, Eren threw back his head and keened, a plaintive cry for help.

Erwin and Hanji and a few others were already on their way, however. They’d heard the telltale sounds of an omega’s pained howl, the sound of two enraged, bloodlusting alphas fighting and didn’t dare come near until it was over.

Now that it was deemed somewhat safe, (they didn’t know what state they’d find the alphas in) they quickly shot up to the platform and landed a safe distance away. The sight of a bloodied, unconscious Zeke and Eren curled around a trembling, heating omega was not a sight they’d seen in a long, long time and immediately, anger surged.

They all knew Levi had been on the cusp of his heat, and the sight was enraging.

Assaulting an omega in pre-heat? Unthinkable.

Erwin growled, eyes flashing alpha gold and at the new scents, Eren’s head whipped over to them and his teeth bared, an answering snarl rumbling in his chest.

“Hanji,” Erwin said, trying to keep his anger in check, as he glared furiously at Zeke’s stationary form, “go see to Levi and Eren. We’ll stay back and as soon as Eren is gone, I will personally secure this _animal_ in a spare hollow. Once Levi’s heat is over, we can figure out what happened and decide on his punishment.”

There were assenting, almost eager nods.

It was a terrible situation for all. Levi had just come out as an omega, felt safe and secure enough to go into a heat for his _asula_ , had been accepted by the community and one of their own had decided to attack him. The scent of a pained, frightened omega in heat burnt their noses and sent the sprites’ protective instincts into overdrive.

Omegas were supposed to be happy during this vulnerable time; the acrid scent that made their noses wrinkle and dynamics growl in displeasure was _not_ supposed to exist.

And no one felt that more keenly than Erwin, who was trembling with anger and torn between the desire to make an executive decision and end Zeke right here, or endure due process and hear Levi’s side of things to make sure all information was gathered.

Levi was his _friend_ ; he’d been the one to accept Zeke and his companions in, and guilt gnawed at him, fueling his anger at the bearded alpha. 

_How dare he?_ Erwin’s alpha roared, thrashing furiously within his chest. He was supposed to take care of this community, keep them safe, and he’d let Levi down.

“It’s alright, Erwin,” Hanji soothed, crooning lowly to her friend in an attempt to soothe the seething anger. “Aside from his wing, Levi doesn’t look hurt. He’s mostly just scared, not in pain. It’s the heat making him this way. You didn’t know what Zeke would do; you’re still our Head Alpha.”

At the words, Erwin blinked and the growling in his chest abated as he heard the truth in what Hanji said. He gave a short nod in thanks and Hanji patted his shoulder. “Get one of the betas – make sure they’re bonded – to get me water to clean the wound and for Levi to drink and some clean bandages,” Hanji ordered. “Eren’s nearly feral, so we need to be careful.”

Erwin nodded, turning to relay the message and Hanji began approaching Eren and Levi slowly, a soothing, motherly coo vibrating through the air.

“Hey, Eren, sweetie,” Hanji crooned, wary of getting too close until the near-feral alpha calmed somewhat.

Eren was absolutely gone, pupils blown wide in rage, wings flared wide and trembling in their tenseness. An unending, warning growl rumbled in his chest and he snarled at anyone who got too close as they edged around the platform in an attempt to get to Zeke and drag him away.

Yet despite everything, the way he cradled Levi was exceedingly gentle, clutching the omega close while being achingly careful not to hurt the ripped wing any more.

Despite her own fury at someone assaulting Levi, she felt a certain pride at the alpha that was taking such careful care of the omega. If anything, it was her fault that this had happened, Hanji thought forlornly; if she’d asked Levi to wait until Eren got back, he wouldn’t have left with Zeke. 

“Eren,” she crooned again, holding out a hand slowly, placatingly, her scent neutral and calming, “You don’t have to let go of him, but I need to look at his wing and make sure it’s not torn badly. It’s important to make sure he can fly right in the future.”

At some point, Hanji’s words got through to Eren's rage-hazed brain and it cleared a bit, the red tint dissipating from his eyes.

He saw with clear eyes the unmoving form of Zeke, knew he wasn’t a threat anymore. He saw Hanji with her hand outstretched, a worried expression on her face and knew she just wanted to help. He saw Erwin hovering behind her and while his first instinct was to lash out at the other alpha, he saw that Erwin’s gaze was locked directly on Zeke, fists clenched and wings trembling with his own private fury.

 _Good_ , his inner alpha thought, _someone else who wants to beat him to a pulp_ , and that approval marked Erwin as an ally to Eren. It also helped clear his thoughts and he heard Hanji say she needed to look at Levi’s wing, and-

Right, she was their doctor.

Eren was still reluctant to let go of the omega and so he shifted, pulling Levi in closer with one arm while adjusting his wings with the other, so the injured top wing was lying flat on the ground.

“Good,” Hanji crooned, taking the injured wing. It was oozing blood and when Levi jerked in pain, Eren growled but allowed her to continue working. A low whine slipped from between Levi’s lips and Eren immediately answered it with a low, reassuring warble.

“Hey, Levi,” Hanji said softly as she reached into her pockets for a clean cloth to wipe the blood away. “Are you lucid? Can you tell me how you’re feeling?”

Levi blinked, shimmering silver eyes hazily locking onto hers before attempting to give a slight roll. Hanji appreciated that; it meant Levi was still feeling well enough to sass her.

“Shitty,” Levi rasped before his eyes closed. “Wing’s torn, but that’s it,” he said, assuaging her worries about any other injuries.

A beta brought a flask of clean water and a roll of clean bandages. Hanji wetted a few of the cloth coverings before taking a critical look at Eren, assessing his mood.

Eren was looking a bit less insane now and so Hanji handed the flask to him to help Levi drink. The hoarseness of his voice showed just how dehydrated he was, and for an omega in heat, that was dangerous.

Eren steadied the flask above his dry lips and Levi swallowed it down in eager gulps, soothing his burning throat. The relief from the thirst helped distract him the pain as Hanji cleaned his wing, looking it over for any further

His heat had died down to a low simmer in the wake of his extreme emotions and with his throat no longer parched, he looked to Hanji as she tenderly cleaned his wound. “He overheard. Zeke knows. Wants the wish,” he whispered quietly, and Hanji’s hands faltered for a moment before she breathed out slowly, trying to cool her temper.

All this for a fucking _wish_?

Suddenly, Hanji understood why Levi had tried to desperately to refute his Touch, and she knew Erwin would be absolutely furious to know that they’d been overheard. Erwin was a sprite of his word, and for someone to find out after they’d promised Levi…

Zeke was going to have a bad time.

She finished cleaning the wound; it looked like there was no serious damage and she sighed in relief. “You can go ahead and heal that.”

Immediately, Levi’s eyes slipped closed in relief and his marks lit up as he called his magic. Thankfully, it came immediately to him this time and the searing pain faded into nothingness as the muscles and skin of his wing knitted themselves back together.

It left a lighter streak through his wing and it pained his omega to see an imperfection. Sprites prided themselves on their wings, and to see them marred…

Eren seemed to have sensed his thoughts, because he just purred and reached down to lick at the line soothingly, as if to say _See? I don’t mind. It’s beautiful._

Eren’s tongue running over the sensitive skin made him gasp and his heat flared back to life, making him shiver. His arousal flared and suddenly, all he wanted to do was purge himself of his clothing, have Eren run that tongue all over his body, have the alpha lay him down and fuck him as he was meant to be.

In Eren’s arms, Levi felt scorching hot to the touch, lips dry and breaths coming in small, short pants. The lingering bitter smell of anxiety and smokey, cloying scent of anger was starting to fade, and in its place there was something new, a sweet, rich smell that he’d caught the faintest of traces before, but now was in full bloom.

The heat of his skin, the dazed look on his face, the smell…

Levi was truly, fully in heat. _Fuck_.

His alpha howled, feeling a new sense of urgency to get them somewhere safe and private and away from hungry eyes, to whisk his injured omega away and keep them safe and protected because Levi was his, only his –

“Take care of him,” Hanji said, lightly touching Eren’s shoulder before quickly retreating as the heady, overpowering scent of an alpha in the beginning of his rut reached her nose. Eren growled and snapped at Erwin as the alpha came a bit too close in order to question Hanji; the alpha bared sharp, long fangs at a perceived competitor and the two sprites wisely backed up to a safe distance.

As they did so, Hanji called out to Eren again, making the alpha growl and gather Levi up closer to him. “Take him back to the hollow, okay?” she called, stepping backwards slowly with her hands up. “Remember what I said, Eren. Be good to him.”

At the last words Eren snapped almost jarringly out of his rut-rage, blinking a bit.

 _Be good to him_.

The rest of Hanji’s words reached him then and he looked directly at her, feeling a bit less like a beast than he had before. “I will,” he said, voice hoarse with a cutting edge to it.

Levi shifted and stirred in his arms, wings attempting a weak flap and eyes blinking dazedly. “Eren,” he rasped. “It’s so hot. I can’t…” he shuddered and groaned, fingers weakly clutching at his arm. Eren's growls turned to a low croon, trying to comfort the sweet creature he was cradling.

At the sound, Levi’s unfocused eyes found him, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to process what was going on. “Fuck,” he panted, giving up after a moment. Heat raced across his skin, licking like cool flames and it felt like he couldn’t get enough air. “Forgot how fucking _hot_ it gets. _Shit,_ ” Levi gasped, squirming a bit, and Eren could detect a new scent, one that made his alpha pace within him and howl to be unleashed.

Levi was slicking, and Eren could feel it seeping through the omega’s thin pants. It filled the air with its sweet scent and his alpha howled in displeasure as a few of the sprites nearby tentatively sniffed at the new scent in the air.

Safe. He needed Levi safe. Needed them to be alone, to soothe his omega, take care of him. 

“I… I need to go,” he rasped out to Hanji and Erwin, not taking his eyes off Levi. He stepped back once, twice, then whirled around and launched himself off, instinct taking over as he dove into the air.

Levi barely seemed to notice the sudden change, just groaning a bit as the cool night air and sudden airflow hit his skin.

“Soon,” Eren rumbled, eyes narrowing and eyes locking onto Levi’s hollow in the far distance. Levi whined and gave a low keen, panting as the heat scorched through his body. “Soon, Levi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ….Did I write about the band on Levi’s horn just so I could eventually turn it into a symbolical wedding ring?
> 
> You bet your ass I did.
> 
> Next chapter in a couple of days. If you've read Moonstruck, you know how I do.


	7. The fire blazes brightly across the world; we let the flames kindle our soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Levi,” he whispered, voice warm and fond, “Can I take care of you?”
> 
> Eren's voice cut through some of his heat haze and Levi stilled, processing the words.
> 
> Even now, with the scent of slick and aroused omega in heat thick in the air, Levi pressed underneath him, Eren was asking for permission. That along with the words made Levi sigh and tilt his head back, exposing his scent gland in a gesture of submission. 
> 
> “Fuck,” Levi groaned, squirming a bit more. “Fuck yes. _Please,_ Eren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay... okay yeah you know what, I can't even blame the fever for this one. I have absolutely no idea what even happened, dawg.
> 
> Edit: praise Daddy Satan

Eren’s skin against his was a minor relief, but one Levi was immensely grateful for. He knew Eren ran hot, but compared to the fever his skin had suddenly decided to take on, it felt much blissfully cool. Levi pressed his burning cheek gratefully against the line of Eren’s throat.

Eren's scent was heady and irresistible as he shoved his nose close to the scent gland. Pupils dilating, Levi shivered and sought to get closer to the source of that mouthwatering scent. Eren's gland was producing thick oil at a rapid pace; Levi was barely thinking as he parted his lips to lick over it, moaning at the taste and feel of pheromones on his tongue.

Eren's arms tightened around him and all Levi could think was getting closer, of crawling into Eren's skin and living there. The desire felt a bit insane and Levi could tell that already, he was absolutely gone to the heat.

“Almost there, Levi,” Eren's voice whispered, sounding rumbly and strained to Levi’s ears.

 _Almost where_? Levi thought, opening his mouth to seal it over the scent gland, sucking a deep mark into the sensitive skin.

Eren’s responding growl vibrated against his lips and Levi made a low, pleased sound in his throat. Suddenly, the wind against his body stopped and he mourned the loss of the coolness on his overheated skin.

Eren made a soothing noise in the back of his throat and Levi’s anxiety instantly melted away. He returned to nipping along Eren’s neck, instinctively encouraging the small scent glands to the surface of the alpha’s skin.

Levi distantly registered the sound of cloth rustling and muted footsteps against wood, and then he was being lowered into something soft and fluffy. The materials felt cool against his burning skin and he gasped in relief, mouth unlatching from the delicious, pheromone-soaked skin it was attached to.

It was dark in the hollow with the curtains drawn and almost absently, he called up his magic and conjured a small ball of dim light. He directed it up to the ceiling and kept it lit with just a small amount of magic. The soft light cast about the hollow made him remember the sight of Eren’s marks lighting up as the magic flowed through him.

In a distant part of his mind, Levi wondered how Eren had been able to access Ocean magic, but it was a secondary thought because his mind was firmly fixed on the memory of beautiful, furious Eren, marks lit up with a blue-tinged glow and appearing like some sort of avenging spirit.

It made Levi give a low trill of excitement as he squirmed deeper into the soft bedding, relishing in the smooth, cool feel of feathers and fluffy plants.

There was a constant rumble emanating from deep within Eren's chest, something between an aroused growl and pleased croon as he watched the panting omega on the bed.

The scent of lavender and honey was heady in the small hollow, though it was laced with something darker and more alluring that made all reason want to flee Eren's mind. It clouded his thoughts and his alpha raged, howling to be unleashed.

 _Be good to him_.

Hanji’s words repeated in his head over and over again; Eren forced down his instincts and took a deep breath.

This was _Levi;_ his soulmate, his other half.

Eren would die before he hurt the omega in any way, did anything he didn’t want. Eren wanted to give Levi the _world_. The writhing sprite in the soft basin of a bed inspired a myriad of emotions within him; so many and of such depth that it left Eren's throat a bit tight.

Hanji had said Levi’s last heat was somewhat traumatic; enough so that he’d been unwilling to go through it again. She’d told Eren that Levi was most likely to be nervous and apprehensive even with the heat haze settling over him. For all of his gruffness and sharp tongue, his strength and ability, Levi had never experienced intimacy like this before.

There was no way Eren would be able to be as gentle as he liked. Already, the threads of his control were fraying at the edges with the scent of aroused, slicking omega heavy in the air. His jaws were aching to bite down and claim, cock throbbing and hard with the promise of sinking into Levi’s warm, wet body.

He wouldn’t be able to be gentle, but Eren could make it _good_.

 _Would_ make it good, wring the pleasure from Levi until the omega was dazed and sated and limp in his arms because he deserved all of that and more. He’d make sure Levi was relaxed and aroused and completely mindless with pleasure before sliding into him and bonding him, make sure Levi felt no pain at all.

Levi could feel bright teal eyes on him and he arched on the bedding as a wave of scorching heat burned through his veins, making his stomach cramp and ass throb in want. Panting, he reached up to claw at the dark shirt, the clothes suddenly feeling stifling and constricting, fabric rubbing harshly over his over-sensitive skin and nipples.

“Eren,” Levi whispered, voice breathless and raspy as he struggled to divest himself of his clothes.

“I’m here,” Eren crooned, appearing at his side and bending down to trail a clawed finger down Levi’s facial marks. Levi cracked open his eyes and saw Eren’s handsome face looming over his, gorgeous teal eyes burning with want. Eren's hair was already a bit sweaty, every line of his large, muscled body tense and ready to snap.

Levi knew that he was on the verge of entering his corresponding rut, but was somehow holding it back. But fuck, Levi was tired of holding back, especially with the uncomfortable heat warming his body and making him drip with want. 

“ _Eren_ ,” Levi called, a bit more fervent this time. His voice hitched up into a distressed, frustrated warble and Eren dropped to his knees, eyes wide and a snarl ripping from his chest at the sharp spike of distress he could smell from the omega. “I can’t – fucking- _fuck!”_ he panted. “These, get _off_.”

The omega scrabbled at his clothes, small claws tearing at the fabric in distress. They felt rough and abrasive against his sensitive, burning skin and he wanted nothing more than to get them _off_.

“It’s okay,” Eren crooned, voice rough and yet somehow immensely soothing to the omega at the same time. He rubbed one of his wrists over Levi’s leaking scent gland in an attempt to calm the anxious omega. “I have you, Levi. I’m here.”

His mere presence and the contact of his skin helped drive some of the heat haze from Levi’s mind, cooled the flames licking at his skin.

Eren was letting out a soothing scent underneath the dark, musky one of an aroused alpha, pheromones flooding out to envelop Levi, leaving him dazed and wanting and a bit more calm. It allowed Eren to swiftly divest Levi of his boots, pants, and shirt, though where they went, Levi didn’t know or care.

The cool feathers and fluffy plant material felt heavenly against his bare, overheated skin, the presence of his alpha soothing an ache deep within. There was slick starting to drip down his thighs and into the bedding, but Levi didn’t spare a single thought for it. Eren's presence soothed his heat and while arousal still clawed at his gut and made him so hard it almost hurt, there was also a languid type of satisfaction he felt from being alone with the alpha, Eren's attention focused solely on him.

Feeling a bit less crazed, Levi stretched and let out a purring, half-trill at the feel and then slitted his eyes open to see Eren swiftly shucking his clothes. Levi’s eyelids drooped at the sight of Eren's long, muscled body, watching the muscles ripple under bronzed skin as he moved. Eren was absolutely gorgeous and Levi couldn’t stop his eyes from tracing down the broad, defined shoulders, firm pecs and abs, licked his lips at the sharp ‘V’ of hipbones and –

Eren's cock was long, thick and achingly hard, the plump tip already starting to drip with precum. The thought of that solid length sliding into him, of being split wide open around it made Levi flap his wings and practically keen, tossing his head back and giving a sharp flap of his wings in an instinctive bid to draw the alpha to him.

A growl split the air and then Eren was stalking over to him, stride as graceful and sinuous as a panther. His eyes were fixed on Levi, burning gold-edged teal raking over his body as he raised his wings and flapped a few times. The way his wings were flared was both a warning to other alphas to stay away and meant as an enticement for omegas; the bold, beautiful colors were designed to draw in the beta or omega they were courting with the promise to wrap them up in their velvety expanse.

As Eren reached the edge of the basin of the bed, Levi licked his lips and spread his legs, arching his back and letting his wings splay limply across the floor in a display of submission. The dim light from Levi’s light reflected off of the slick that had spread across his inner thighs, a testament to how aroused and receptive he was.

Levi knew his scent was heady and thick in the air; he tilted his head to the side both to entice the alpha and release even more of his potent heat pheromones. His scent glands felt swollen and heavy, the cartilage rising to the surface in preparation for the bonding bite. The slight swell of them right underneath the skin were a tempting sight and blatant invitation.

Eren only had to sniff the air once before he bared his fangs and dropped to his knees in front of Levi. Roughly, he pushed the thick, pale thighs apart and slotted himself in between them. Eren caught up Levi’s wrists and pushed them over Levi’s head, holding the omega still so he could lean back and soak in the display before him.

Levi’s pale skin seemed to glow in the low light of conjured magic, his neck, wrists, and inner thighs wet with oil from excited scent glands. His muscles seemed to ripple with every small movement he made, wings waving and curling against the bedding, the silver in them brighter than ever and shining as if polished. His cock was hard and leaking against his toned stomach, thighs soaked with sweet-smelling slick.

Eren swallowed heavily, heart hammering within his chest at the sight. His eyes traveled slowly over Levi until he met the omega’s gaze; Levi’s thin, sharp eyes were heavy-lidded, pupils blown in arousal. He squirmed a bit under the hot stare, licking his lips as a needy trill escaped him.

God, Levi was so beautiful. Eren loved him so much. Wanted to take care of him, give Levi everything he deserved and more, had to make this good and burn the memory of this first time into Levi’s mind so he would never forget.

“So pretty,” Eren crooned, free hand smoothing slowly over Levi’s side, enjoying the feel of soft skin over hard muscle.

Eren's hands felt good against his skin; they were a different kind of warmth from the heat that was making him sweat, their light roughness a delicious contrast to the softness of his bedding. The contact made him squirm, his over-sensitized skin making every touch much more intense than it should be.

He wanted to tell Eren to get on with it, that he was literally burning up and needed _something_ , anything, but all that he was able to do was produce a trill that tapered off into a quiet rumble of anticipation as the alpha started slowly bending his head.

Almost reverently, Eren pressed his soft, warm lips against Levi’s, and he nearly melted under the gentle touch.

Eren had kissed him once before, but it was nothing like this.

Slow and gentle, it made the fire in his veins cool as Eren licked almost playfully against his lips, seeking more of Levi’s taste. With a small sigh, Levi parted his lips and immediately, Eren’s tongue slipped into his mouth. Eren's lips were curved into a smile against his own and Levi felt a warm swell of emotion within his chest.

Eren looming over him, pinning his wrists down should have sparked some sort of panic within him, especially after Zeke, but all Levi felt at the thought was contentment. Eren had come for him, had fought for him. Levi could still feel the echo of Eren at the back of his mind, a warm, steady presence that would only grow stronger once they bonded.

Eren's warm body caged him in, wings curling over them and mouth so soft and gentle against his own. Their scents mixed together in a comforting blend, no outside influence marring the pheromones in the air.

Here in his dimly-lit hollow with Eren's comforting presence, Levi had never felt more safe or taken care of.

His scent turned sweeter at the realization that he was _safe_ , another wave of slick trickling out of him. Instinctively, he brought his knees up to rub the scent glands along his inner thighs along Eren's hips. It rubbed their cocks together and Levi gasped as a small wave of pleasure washed over him. He heard Eren inhale against his mouth, taking in the scents in the air.

Levi was relaxing, his scent one of blissful, aroused omega and instinctively, Eren knew that Levi was ready.

Almost regretfully, Eren drew back a bit, withdrawing his tongue and having to fight against the need to take Levi’s mouth again when the omega made a low, needy noise in the back of his throat.

Instead, he brushed his lips against Levi’s soft ones. “Levi,” he whispered, voice warm and fond, “Can I take care of you?”

Eren's voice cut through some of his heat haze and Levi stilled, processing the words.

Even now, with the scent of slick and aroused, heating omega thick in the air, Levi pressed underneath him, Eren was asking for permission. That, along with the gentle words, made Levi sigh and tilt his head back, exposing his scent gland in a gesture of complete submission.

“Fuck,” Levi groaned, squirming a bit more, enjoying the way their cocks rubbed together, precum making the glide even smoother. “Fuck, _yes_. Please, Eren.”

Levi slitted his eye open to see Eren grinning above him, a pleased glint in his eye. His already long canines had elongated, sharp and primed to sink into Levi’s neck and bond them together for life.

“Good,” Eren purred, his scent turning darker, spicier with arousal and Levi shuddered as the thick pheromones of an alpha in rut hit him.

Eren drew back, releasing Levi’s wrists. The lack of contact made him whine at the loss, but Eren was already crooning low in his throat.

“Can you roll over for me?” Eren asked, voice low and almost a purr, his bright teal eyes locked firmly onto the shine of slick and oil between his thighs.

It was phrased as a request, but it was layered with an authority and command that made him helpless to resist.

Slowly, Levi rolled onto his stomach. His wings trembled as Levi held them aloft, spreading and tilting them slightly in an unconscious desire to entice the alpha and show off the smooth expanse of his back and vulnerable nape.

“Hands and knees,” Eren said lowly, eyes edging into gold as he watched Levi rise up, wings weakly waving and reflecting the conjured light. They flashed silver as the omega rose to his knees and pushed up onto his hands. Levi’s small black claws were out and Eren could see his fingers already clutching the bedding, a quiet trill coming from him as he sought the alpha’s approval.

Levi already had it, even if he didn’t know it. Eren could see an enticing hint of Levi’s pink, dripping little hole, could practically sense the way it twitched in need with every little shudder that wracked Levi’s body. 

Hungrily, his eyes traveled up the muscled expanse of Levi’s back, wanting to drag this out for as long as possible before he inevitably gave in to his base desires. Eren traced a slightly-clawed finger lightly down Levi’s spine, making him shiver at the warm, trailing touch.

“Head down,” Eren ordered and Levi was helpless to deny the alpha when his voice was thick and layered with need and arousal. Levi folded his arms in front of him and pressed his forehead against them, closing his eyes and breathing deeply in an attempt to calm down.

In the end, the attempt failed; the burning need was coming back. It had been sated for a time simply by having Eren close to him, but now his body knew it had an alpha within constant reach and the heat ramped up as if demanding Levi to take what it needed. It sent another cramp through his stomach and he pushed his head more firmly against his arms as he rode it out. A trickle of slick leaked from his hole as it clenched down on nothing.

A low whine escaped from his lips and Eren’s answering growl sent a shiver through him as the alpha’s fingers tensed, lightly scratching at his skin. Eren wanted, needed this as much as he did, Levi realized, and his wings flapped weakly at the thought.

“Shh,” Eren crooned, making Levi still and his head to lift slightly in order to hear Eren's next command. “Spread your legs and tilt your hips.”

The thought of being so exposed was mortifying, but hearing the lust in Eren's voice made any embarrassment fade away. One of the alpha’s hands traced teasingly down his back to palm his hips, the other resting gently at the small of his back. Slowly, Levi spread his slick thighs and when Eren exerted gentle pressure against his back, encouraging him to arch, Levi bit his lip and did as Eren wished. He bowed his back until his ass was presented for the alpha’s eyes, wet, dripping entrance on perfect display.

Eren hummed in pleasure, taking in the small hole shining with slick. Levi was extremely wet, and while it was a bit different to see a man already wet and ready, he knew that it was a good thing.

_The more willing and aroused an omega is, the better their slick production is._

And judging by that, Eren thought lustily, Levi was _very_ turned on.

Levi was shaking slightly, his head turned to the side and peering up at him through one slitted silver eye. There was a pink flush painted across his cheekbones and his pretty lips were parted as he attempted to breathe slowly.

Eren crooned in encouragement and Levi’s eyes closed, a shudder going through him at the sound. His wings were partially parted, waving and slowly flapping against his back, as if they weren’t sure what to do. Practically humming in anticipation, Eren returned his attention to the sweet little hole in front of him and Eren eyed the firm, place globes of Levi’s ass with anticipation.

God, he’d been wanting to grab it, bite into that soft skin ever since he’d seen Levi completely bared in the bathing hollow.

Eren shuffled back on his knees so that he had room to work. Levi tensed at the sound, unable to see what Eren was doing. It sent a little shiver through him, but he remained still despite being so very vulnerable. The amount of trust Levi had in him only had Eren even more determined to make this _good_ , to do whatever he could to pleasure the omega before him.

Eren had done this only a few times, when he knew his partner was absolutely clean in every possible way. Hanji had told him that omegas were naturally clean for this exact reason and it had eased some of Eren’s anxiety.

It still amazed him that Levi was so naturally hairless, but he greatly appreciated the complete smoothness of Levi’s skin. Hanji had said all sprites were naturally hairless, something about reducing drag during flight. Eren had never appreciated anything more at this moment.

He watched as a bit more slick slipped out of the twitching hole, and upon scenting the sweetness of it, he was struck with a strong urge to taste it and see if it tasted as good as it smelled.

Biting his lip to hopefully quell his eagerness, Eren leaned down, bracing his elbows against his thighs as he wrapped his hands around Levi’s smooth, thick thighs. The omega jerked a bit at the touch and then froze as Eren's mouth skimmed over his ass. His lips brushed over the skin to silently convey what he wanted to do. Being so close to the source of the sweet smell and the scent glands on Levi’s inner thighs sent a wave of lust crashing over him; he tensed in anticipation.

Levi knew what Eren was going to do the minute he started kissing and nibbling the skin of his ass, fingers kneading the backs of his thighs, but he couldn’t believe it.

Was Eren really going to-?

“Wait – shit, Eren,” Levi choked out, twisting a bit to get away. Eren's claws dug into the skin of his thighs to keep him from moving and a silent warning to not resist.

Levi lifted up a bit to jerk his head around, cheeks warming at the intense, hungry gaze Eren focused on him. The sight of Eren between his spread thighs sent a near-dizzying wave of heat through him and he had to shake his head a bit in an effort to clear it.

Although Levi could practically taste the impatience and want emanating from Eren, the alpha went predatorily still, breathing heavily and waiting for Levi to gather his scattered thoughts. The thought of what Eren wanted to do sparked his desire, igniting another wash of heat through his body, gut clenching and making his body tense.

Eren palmed Levi’s thighs as he waited, head dipping down to nibble at the omega’s soft skin as Levi trembled under the heat.

“Not – there!” Levi managed to gasp out, back arching a bit as the wave of heat crested and then faded, leaving him with trembling thighs.

“Told me I could explore later,” Eren rumbled, teal eyes shining bright as they flicked up to meet Levi’s. He remembered earlier, when they had been about to meet Erwin and was about to tell him that this was absolutely _not_ what he’d meant, but Eren cut him off, his words firm. “This is later, Levi.”

His lips curled back a bit from his fangs and Levi’s eyes slipped closed at the raw lust displayed on Eren's face. Eren's hands slid up to grip pert, pale cheeks, rubbing the supple flesh firmly before using his thumbs to spread Levi wide and expose the rosy, wet entrance to greedy eyes.

Eren's voice had dropped into nothing more than a guttural rumble as the scent of sweet slick hit the air. Levi heard Eren inhale deeply and then snarl, fingers tightening on his ass.

“You smell…” There was another inhale and then, “Let me – I want – fucking, _please_ let me have this-” Eren snarled, practically vibrating with tension.

Even lost in the first waves of his rut, Eren was still waiting for permission, for Levi to be okay with this. The thought made something melt within him. Eren's words were just fragmented bits of a sentence, showing how far gone he was. With the heat scorching through his veins, Levi felt what little resistance he had left crumble.

Eren was his _asula_ , his other half; he was asking for something that Levi could give him. Eren wanted to take care of him. It was alright.

And so Levi dropped his head, spreading his trembling thighs wider. He gave a weak nod, body tensing in anticipation. While some part of him rebelled at this, a greater part was excited for it, for any sort of attention to the part of him that was so needy and wanting.

He could hear Eren's short inhale of breath before a pleased purr came from the alpha as Levi presented himself, offering up his body for Eren to explore and please.

“ _Good_ ,” Eren crooned, rubbing his cheeks gently as he shifted down on the bedding so his mouth was hovering right over Levi’s slick, twitching entrance. “So gorgeous. M’gonna take care of you, Levi.”

Eren’s warm breath washed over his skin, making him twitch as he struggled to keep himself still and not try to crawl away or close his thighs.

Eren's voice was still lustful, but there was also a soft, adoring affection in his voice that had Levi wanting to keen and thrust his ass back into Eren's mouth. Warm breath puffed over the sensitive ring of muscle there for a scant second and then Eren's warm, soft tongue was licking over him tentatively.

The rush of pleasure and relief from the light touch almost had his knees buckling, and he threw back his head and keened before dropping it once more and panting. His stomach clenched but nothing else came and his eyes blinked open, confused as to why Eren had suddenly stopped.

And then it hit him; Eren was both gauging his reaction to it along with the taste. As the alpha paused for a moment behind him, Levi felt a sharp spike of anxiety and self-consciousness.

Was the taste of his slick bad? Did Eren find the act disgusting; was he changing his mind?

There was a sudden spike in Eren's scent; it became more intense and Levi’s claws dug into the soft bedding when he realized it was pure lust.

“You… _god_ , your taste is fucking amazing,” Eren practically moaned and Levi blinked, whipping his head around. Eren was gazing at him with gold-tinted eyes, a wet sheen on his lips – _slick_ , Levi realized, and the thought and sight made his cheeks warm, arousal shooting through him.

Eren licked his lips, savoring the sweet, almost intoxicating taste that lingered on his lips. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the slick Levi was producing was one of the best things he’d ever tasted.

Sweet, yet a bit musky, it tasted purely of Levi and his heat pheromones, and Eren’s alpha was ravenous for more, _needed_ more of the taste of an aroused, heating omega. It was sheer torture to wait and make sure Levi was alright with being rimmed. Knowing that the sheer amount of the sweet substance leaking from the little pucker was because Levi wanted him, was aroused and receptive for _him_ turned Eren on more than anything.

The sight of Levi’s cheeks flaring an enchanting pink made him want to croon at the pretty omega, but then the dark, heady scent of Levi’s arousal spiked and Eren couldn’t help the low growl he gave in response. He kept his eyes firmly fixed on glowing, heavy-lidded silver ones as he slowly bent his head and gave another lick to that sweet entrance.

It fluttered under his tongue, Levi’s back arching a bit in a beautiful curve. Levi gave a low moan, silver-black wings twitching in response. The sight was absolutely captivating.

His head dropped when Eren repeated the action, running his tongue over the soft folds and gathering up the sweet liquid, savoring the taste. Levi shifted a bit and Eren's nails dug into the skin of his pert ass, instinctively trying to prevent him from getting away.

“Eren,” Levi rasped, spreading his thighs even wider, exposing the hard cock that was hanging heavily between them, leaking precum. “I – _more_. Please.” Levi’s voice sounded wrecked already, and judging by the way his dick twitched suddenly, the sprite liked what he was doing.

If it were any other time, Eren might have teased him, made him twist and shudder and beg prettily for it, but Levi’s skin had spiked in temperature and the alpha refused to make him wait when he was so obviously wanting and burning with need.

This was _Levi_ , the man Eren was in love with.

Since it was his first time, Eren was hellbent on making it the best experience possible. He couldn’t, _wouldn’t_ deny the omega anything at this point, not when Eren wanted it just as much.

Levi’s entrance was so pink and inviting as his hands spread the taut, pale cheeks apart, inner curves of his thighs shining with desperately-produced slick. Unable to resist any longer and having been granted permission, Eren gave a low growl and dove right in.

Levi’s eyes widened and he let out a low moan, pleasure pooling in his gut as Eren's tongue laved over him, lapping up the slick that had leaked out. Any disgust or worry he might have felt vanished in an instant, because _fuck_ , it was the best thing he’d ever felt.

His entrance was sensitive and pliant under the skilled tongue and Levi was unable to stop the way his hips jerked, pressing his ass back into Eren's mouth. His tongue was long and nimble, switching between wide, long licks and pushing just past the tight ring of muscle in a teasing hint of what was to come later.

When Eren's tongue stiffened and probed deeper into his ass, Levi couldn’t hold back the small trill of pleasure that escaped him. He had only distant memories of his first heat, but the fingers he’d used in a futile attempt to find release were nothing compared to the feel of Eren's soft tongue prodding and licking into him now.

His fingers clenched tightly around some of the bedding and his head hung low, unable to muster the energy to keep it up.

“ _Eren_ ,” Levi whispered hoarsely, wings shuddering and waving weakly under the sheer intensity of what he was feeling.

The alpha gave only a small rumble in acknowledgement, tongue lazily lapping over the small, sensitive pucker a few more times before placing his mouth over it and giving it a gentle suck. Levi’s head fell into the bedding as he cried out at the sheer intensity of it, arms giving out.

Eren caught him with an arm wrapped around his waist; his hard, leaking cock brushed against Eren's skin and he choked a bit at the feeling.

It felt like too much, yet not enough at the same time. Every time Eren's tongue withdrew it left him feeling empty and aching. Pleasure curled in his stomach and each time Levi jerked, his hard cock bobbed and reminded him of the one that would be inside of him soon. He wanted Eren to keep going like this, alternatively lapping and sucking at his hole, but even as the pleasure built within him, there was no relief, no end to it.

“Eren,” he called, eyes squeezing shut, hips twisting in futile to press his ass back, to rub his dick against Eren's soft skin. “I can’t, it’s-” With a small inhale, Eren pulled his mouth away and Levi shifted his head to look back at Eren. “It’s not enough,” Levi whispered, voice hoarse. “It…” another wave of heat crashed over him, making his ass throb and clench in emptiness.

Eren's nostrils flared and then the alpha was pulling back, hands settling around his waist to flip him in a smooth movement. Levi had just enough sense to flare his wings before his back hit the soft bedding and then Eren was looming over him, lower half of his face shiny with the remnants of slick.

It made Levi keen, arching his back in a desperate attempt to get Eren to do _something_ , anything to quell the heat burning through him and making him near-insane with need.

“Eren, _I can’t_ ,” he rasped, tilting his head back in an effort to entice the alpha to bond him. He didn’t know how else to calm down the aching emptiness and unbearable heat; it was driving him to the edge of what he could stand.

A bit of the bright gold faded from Eren's eyes and he looked at Levi softly.

“I know,” he said quietly, making Levi’s ears strain to hear him. “I have you, Levi.” The words were spoken with a soft reassurance that soothed his omega, knowing that Eren was here with him. 

The reminder calmed Levi somewhat and Eren slid his hands down Levi’s body. He reveled in the soft touch of the alpha’s fingers as they skimmed almost reverently down his hips to wrap around his thighs. Eren pushed them up and over his shoulders, and the sight of the alpha between his thighs made Levi tilt his head back and grip the bedding in anticipation.

One of Eren’s hands returned to his hip to gently keep him in place, while the other skimmed over his aching cock, stroking it a few times before sliding down over his taut balls and then behind.

When Eren's fingers brushed over his clenching hole, Levi could have sobbed in relief. They prodded gently, testing, and then he was crying out as one slipped easily into him, the copious amount of slick making it an effortless glide. It was a relief to finally be filled in some way and Levi’s hips bucked involuntarily, ass clenching around Eren's finger.

It pumped slowly a few times, testing the tightness, and then another one was slipping in alongside the first. Levi was aroused and receptive, but it had been so long since his first heat that he felt the stretch keenly, hole aching a bit at the girth. It set something off within Levi; it felt _good_ , right in a way that soothed the aching within him, and he melted back into the bedding.

Eren purred at the sight and followed him down, thankful that Levi’s body was flexible and agile enough to allow it. He tilted his head to rub his neck against Levi’s, relishing in the way the omega stiffed before he relaxed and moaned in relief.

He rubbed back against Eren and the alpha growled at the feel of the heat pheromones carried within the oil as they soaked into his skin. It made his skin warm pleasurably and tingle wherever they touched, and Eren thrust his neck a bit harder against Levi’s, desperate for more of the omega’s scent and the way he felt.

The walls ripping around his fingers were soft and it seemed to calm Levi somewhat now that he was filled. The ache wouldn’t abate until Eren slid inside of him, but right now, Levi seemed content to have Eren’s fingers petting along his insides softly.

Levi tilted his hips up, trying to encourage Eren to thrust his fingers faster. It felt indescribably good to feel the stretch and fill of Eren’s fingers, but the alpha was moving so slow that it was making Levi feel a bit insane. Even in the midst of his heat and so willing and open for Eren, the alpha was gentle with him. Levi appreciated it, loved that about Eren, but right now, it wasn’t what he needed.

A third finger teased at his sensitive rim, petting gently over the tight ring and Levi moaned, thrusting his hips further onto Eren’s fingers in encouragement. A gush of slick escaped around Eren’s fingers, lubricating the way and as Eren slowly edged the finger in, Levi keened in pleasure.

“ _Yes_ ,” Levi groaned, shoving down onto the fingers. “Fuck, come _on_ , Eren.”

The alpha growled above him, and then all three fingers were pushing past his rim, spreading and filling him as they traveled further. The tips of the thick digits pressed against his prostate now that they could reach it and Levi cried out, wings flapping against the bedding as white-hot pleasure arced through him. It burned in a different way than the heat and Levi needed _more_.

“There!” Levi gasped, barely registering Eren’s pleased, aroused rumble as he watched the omega clench around his fingers. “ _Shit_ , Eren, give me _more_ ,” he demanded, and was pleased when the alpha complied, immediately withdrawing his fingers and thrusting them in a bit more quickly.

It was all so _good_ , and Levi couldn’t help the way he cried out and twisted in the bedding as Eren held him down with a hand placed against his hip.

He cracked open his eyes and immediately shuddered long and low when he found Eren watching him raptly, bright teal eyes drinking in every one of his actions. It was so arousing to be the sole focus of such an intense gaze and Levi reveled in it.

“You look so _pretty_ writhing on my fingers,” Eren purred. “ _Look_ at you, so desperate and needy. Absolutely beautiful.” Levi choked at the words, the praise sending a hot flush through his body.

He knew Eren saw it when he smiled, the knowing curl of his lips sharp and feral. It sent a flash of fear-laced arousal through him. Eren’s hand slid up from his hip to his cock, wrapping his fingers around it and making Levi’s hips buck up into the hot touch. Precum dripped freely down from the flushed head and made the glide of Eren’s fingers that much easier, sliding smoothly over his hard length and making Levi’s wings give a flap at the intensity of it.

“Your ass feels so good around my fingers,” Eren whispered, licking at the scent gland on Levi’s neck. “Gonna finger you open nice and wide, make sure you’re wet and dripping and loose when I finally slide into you.”

It made his hips jerk, and when they lowered, it pushed Eren’s fingers right against his prostate. It made Levi cry out, wings twitching at the double assault. He was being bombarded with pleasure and didn’t know if he wanted to thrust up into the tight curl of Eren’s fingers or down onto the ones still ruthlessly fucking into him.

Beyond words, Levi could only gasp and nod, not even knowing what he was agreeing to. It was so much, _too_ much and eventually he stilled, claws digging into the bedding as his entire body trembled in overstimulation, trying desperately to process all of the different sensations.

As if sensing that Levi was starting to become overwhelmed, Eren slowed the motions of his fingers and hand until he was just lightly stroking Levi’s weeping, flushed cock. Levi groaned, a bit dismayed at the lack of intense sensation but slightly relieved as well.

It had felt like he was about to lose his mind, shatter into a multitude of pieces. The change of pace allowed him to catch his breath and Levi relaxed into the bedding, his hips languidly bucking up as he calmed down.

When he was finally close to something resembling lucidity, he took a deep breath and reached up to grip Eren’s arm to get his attention. The alpha stilled and tilted his head, bright gold eyes locked firmly onto his face as he waited for Levi to speak.

Levi shook his head, trying to gather his thoughts and a bit teasingly, Eren withdrew his fingers and slid them slowly back into Levi, spreading them wide as he did so.

The stretch was what Levi craved and finally, he found his voice. “Fuck, _Eren_ ,” he moaned as the tips brushed lightly over his prostate. “More.”

Eren went unnaturally still before he growled and then he was fucking Levi on them once more, this time with the intent to stretch out the ring of muscle that still clenched tightly around his fingers. Eren’s own girth was larger than just three digits; he needed Levi loose and stretched if he didn’t want to hurt the omega.

Levi gasped and cried out at the sudden stretch, head tilting back. “I- more, Eren, come on, _please_.”

The sight and sound of Levi begging nearly unraveled the rest of his control, but Eren shook his head, driving out the inner voice that told him to hold Levi down and give the pretty omega exactly what he was asking for.

“Patience,” Eren said, though his voice sounded tight. Levi could feel his hands shaking a bit with tension, and he’d withdrawn his hand from Levi’s dick to hold his hip once more. Eren’s teeth were bared slightly and he looked near-feral.

He looked so close to snapping, and Levi wanted that to happen so badly, his omega practically whimpering with need.

“I can _take_ it,” Levi hissed, fingers clenching in the bedding. “Just _fuck_ me already,” he growled, baring his teeth back at Eren.

Even with three of Eren’s thick fingers thrusting in and out of his tight little ass and stretching the taut ring of muscle wide, Levi looked fierce and wild with need, his silver eyes glowing brightly in the dim light. It made Eren’s dick throb with need, driven a bit wild with Levi’s heat pheromones hanging heavily in the air and soaking into his skin.

Flushed and gorgeous and writhing on his fingers, Levi was _his_.

It made his alpha howl and thrash, made a bit of the tenuous control he had left slip through his fingers.

“Fuck,” Eren swore, eyes flashing gold and then four fingers were pushing into him, stretching him past anything he’d taken before. Eren's fingers were thicker than his own and Levi choked a bit at the sudden stretch, relishing in the slight burn and finally getting the fullness he desired.

The fingers pounded into him ruthlessly and Levi twisted, wings flapping weakly against the bedding. It burned, stretched him in the way he’d been craving and Eren's fingers brushed continuously over his prostate. His cock bobbed with each thrust of Eren's thick fingers, leaking precum over his taut stomach.

Levi’s thighs clenched as he found himself getting close to release, but he was unable to come, his biology keeping him from tipping over.

It frustrated and distressed him; his entire body was tense, muscles coiled and ready to come, but it never came. He cried out in frustration, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes.

“Please!” he gasped, opening his eyes and immediately finding Eren's. “I _can’t_ anymore, fuck – _please,_ Eren!”

He knew he must look wild to the alpha, but Levi was desperate, so sensitive that it was starting to hurt. The heat burning within him was growing more intense, and Levi didn’t know what he wanted, just knew that Eren could give it to him.

Eren must have understood what Levi was asking, because with a snarl, he was ripping his fingers out of Levi. He keened at the loss, feeling aching and empty and hollow.

“Shh,” Eren crooned, attempting to be soothing but in the end, failing as the scent of the desperate, aroused omega hit him. It was like raw, frantic need in scent form and Eren's mind blanked before red tinted the edges of his vision.

Control finally snapping, Eren pushed Levi’s legs off his shoulders and then rolled Levi onto his stomach with a sharp movement.

Levi gasped as his cock brushed against the bedding, but before he could make any sort of noise, his hips were gripped tightly and Eren was yanking them up. Levi’s knees felt weak, but he had enough presence of mind left to brace them as he was forced up. His face was buried in the bedding and panting, Levi pushed up onto one elbow, his other bent in front of him to brace himself.

His wings were twitching as he shifted restlessly; Eren was looming behind him, hands releasing his hips to smooth over the soft surface of his wings. Eren was breathing heavily and while the desperate need was still there, the alpha’s presence and fingers stroking his sensitive wings calmed him somewhat, bringing him back down from the edge.

“Don’t wanna hurt you,” Eren rasped, and Levi felt him shudder, a low snarl ripping from his chest. It was a possessive, dominating sound and Levi’s arousal soared, a fresh wave of slick spilling forth. His eyes squeezed shut and Levi pushed his head against his arm and his ass back. “Just calm – calm down a bit.”

“I _am_ calm,” Levi hissed, the first truly coherent words he’d spoken since Eren brought them back. “I just- you don’t fucking _know-”_

“About how you won’t be able to come until I’ve knotted you?” Eren said, his voice low and sinful.

Levi’s eyes widened at the words and he had to suppress a shudder. Suddenly, Levi’s wings were pushed apart and Eren's firm, muscular body was draped over his, bronzed, smooth skin touching as much of Levi’s as possible.

He gasped as Eren shifted a bit to slot himself right behind Levi. A hot, hard length slid between his legs and he moaned at the feel of it; Eren was big, there was no tiptoeing around it.

Almost distantly, Levi wondered at their difference in size, wondered if Eren would truly break him, but then his mind blanked as he felt the large head pressing against his hole, slowly rubbing over it.

Eren's precum mixed with his slick and when Levi made to push his hips back, slide that lovely cock inside of him, Eren gave a rough, low chuckle and pulled back.

“ _Eren_ ,” he choked out, but any further protest died on his lips as Eren adjusted his hips and then he was sliding in between Levi’s thighs.

The hot, soft skin glid over the sensitive skin of his perineum and balls, making Levi whine at the sensation. It was almost like Eren was fucking him, but in the midst of his heat, he wasn’t satisfied with just _almost_ , couldn’t stand the teasing.

Eren's hips pressed flush against his and Levi flicked his eyes down, inhaling sharply at the sight of Eren's large, flushed tip peeking from between his thighs. The slick and oil on his thighs made for an easy glide; when Eren drew back his hips and slowly slid between his thighs once again, Levi’s fingers clenched in the bedding and his head tilted back on a low moan.

Eren's mouth was at his neck, licking over the scent gland and Levi tilted his head back a bit more, bliss washing over him as Eren bent his head to press his neck against Levi’s. The oils from their scent glands intermingled and Levi’s eyes threatened to roll back. He could practically feel the arousal, the lust pouring from Eren and knew that the alpha could feel his own desire as well.

As Eren rubbed their necks together, Levi could feel his scent glands swelling, rising to the surface until it was a visible lump. This was the first step in the bonding process; to induce the glands to the surface and mix their scent-laden oils, prepare them for sharp teeth to bite into and connect the two together for life.

“Hanji told me about your biology, Levi,” Eren purred, pulling his hips back only to push his cock between smooth, wet thighs in another sinful thrust. “How you were _made_ to take my cock, hang off my knot like the perfect, pretty omega you are.”

The words sparked something in Levi’s gut, the praise and filthy words making his desire flare.

 _Fuck_ , Eren _had_ noticed.

Noticed and was now capitalizing on it, using the words to make him go completely still and shudder helplessly as he hung onto each word and yearned for more.

Eren pulled back to trace his lips over Levi’s horn and he gasped, unsure if he wanted Eren to continue or pull away. Electricity skittered over his skin at the soft touch; it was a different pleasure than what he’d experienced all night, and Levi’s thoughts were scattering.

Still, he hung onto Eren's words like a lifeline, helpless to do anything but let Eren continue to slowly fuck his thighs and listen wide-eyed as Eren whispered sinfully against his ear. He didn’t know how much Hanji had told Eren; Levi had learned enough about the basics of his own biology from his mother, who had always been a bit embarrassed to talk about it with her son.

Hanji was an expert on the specifics of the dynamics, but he’d always been much more interested in the biology of betas to pass as one better and had tuned out when she started talking about omegas. Levi regretted not paying more attention, though, as Eren continued and the implications of his next words made him gasp.

“Told me that I can keep you coming on my knot again and again. Gonna fill you up, breed you full and make you come until you’re begging me to stop,” Eren promised, voice going deep and husky as the thought of Levi strung out with pleasure made his lust spike.

The scent of the ocean breeze became stronger, darker as he pushed himself between the soft skin of Levi’s thighs, occasionally pulling back to slide teasingly along the omega’s wet entrance.

Levi was gasping and shuddering, wings waving unconsciously in the air in a pretty, silvery-black display. The thin, short line of lighter grey at the tip of Levi’s outer wing caught his attention and made him remember Zeke and the sight of him looming over Levi with one hand firmly on his horn. Remembered the fiery rage in Levi’s eyes, how it had felt to be connected to Levi through his magic. How he’d been able to help Eren bring Zeke down even while in pain and at the start of his heat.

God, Levi was magnificent. Beautiful. Strong. All his.

 _Not yours yet,_ his alpha whispered and Eren's eyes immediately darted to the unblemished, milky-white skin of Levi’s neck. He was filled with a sudden possessiveness; he _needed_ his mark on Levi, needed to put his claim there with every fibre of his being so everyone knew that Levi was _his_.

A growl built in his throat as red tinted the edges of his vision once more. A rutting haze started to overtake him as the thought of Zeke touching Levi, of anyone touching _what was his_ made anger surge through him.

“But before you come, I’m gonna mark you up good, let everyone know _who_ you belong to,” Eren snarled, the pace of his thrusting getting rougher and faster until Levi had to grab onto Eren's arm to prevent himself from losing his balance. Eren was practically fucking his thighs now, pleasure shooting through him each time Eren's tip pushed up and over his balls.

The words made a nervous thrill run through Levi; he could smell the anger and possessiveness radiating from Eren, but he knew the alpha’s words were due to the incident with Zeke earlier. It might have scared another omega, but Levi trusted Eren, knew with absolute certainty that the alpha wouldn’t hurt him.

The possessive words also sparked something within Levi, a feral desire to be claimed and fucked, for Eren make good on his promise and give Levi what he’d been burning for. It was hard to form words with Eren rutting between his thighs, brushing over the sensitive scent glands there and making his eyelids flutter as Eren's cock slid along his own.

“Ah, _Eren,_ ” he finally managed to gasp out and Eren's thrusting slowed enough for Levi to take a ragged breath. “ _Yours_ ,” he breathed, squeezing Eren's forearm as the alpha froze at the word. “Make me yours, fuck, _c’mon_ ,” Levi urged, tilting his head back and to the side to display his swollen scent gland. “Stop teasing and _fuck_ me-”

A guttural growl sliced through the air, cutting Levi’s words off and making the omega freeze at the purely alpha sound.

Eren slid a thigh between Levi’s and knocked them apart; a hand fisted in his hair and yanked his head back, forcing his back to arch in a sinful curve. It pushed his ass up and greedy teal eyes drank the sight in. Levi’s body was all soft, white skin and rippling muscle adorned with tantalizing black lines; beautiful, deadly, and all _his_ , Eren thought, alpha howling in dark possessiveness as he gripped Levi’s hip tightly and pressed the tip of his cock against the tantalizing ring of muscle.

It pushed insistently against his entrance, testing the give, only to find that despite having been stretched earlier it was still very much tight. Levi was too wound up from the incessant heat, too tense and nearly mindless with desperation; no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t force himself to relax.

“Fuck,” Eren hissed, closing his eyes and flapping his wings, breathing deeply in order to calm himself and push away thoughts of forcing his cock through the tight little entrance. He was spiraling down into his rut and knew that once he’d slid inside that warm heat, he wouldn’t be able to control himself; it was hard enough to do so as it was, with Levi panting underneath him, pushing his ass back onto his cock in a desperate bid to get him inside.

“Levi,” Eren growled, “you need to – _shit_ , I’m not gonna _fit_ unless you loosen up.”

“Just _do_ it,” Levi hissed, arching his back in an attempt to get the tip to slip inside. He was trying to relax, but apprehension about being fucked for the first time along with desperation from the heat made him immediately tighten back up the second after he forced himself to relax.

“ _No_ ,” Eren said, voice guttural. “I’m not gonna hurt-” Eren's claws dug into his hip in attempt to get Levi to stay still, but it was a second too late.

As Levi arched a bit more and pushed back, the movement forced the large, bulbous tip into the overly tight ring of muscle.

Levi immediately froze, a choked cry of pain forcing itself out of his throat as his tight entrance was suddenly forced wide. Much larger than the four fingers Eren had used, it stretched him painfully, making him clench down and cry out when the involuntary response just served to make the unbearable, burning ache that much worse.

“Levi!” Eren snarled, a sharp spike of panic coming from the alpha as he both smelled and felt Levi’s pain, the scent of previously sweet lavender turning sour and bitter. Levi’s hands were scrabbling at the bedding, entrance clamping down and twitching around his head almost painfully and his alpha howled in distress because that scent was _wrong_.

He had to make Levi relax, make him stop moving because horror was shooting through him at having _hurt_ _Levi_ , _fuck_ , and then his eyes caught the charm swinging from Levi’s horn.

Levi’s eyes were wide, panic flooding through him, because fuck, this wasn’t supposed to _hurt._ He was wet, receptive, he -

Eren suddenly lunged forwards and sunk his teeth into Levi’s horn in a gentle, firm grasp.

An electric tingle went through him at the feel, muscles immediately going limp as the nerves in his horn were pressed on. As bliss washed over him, he forgot all about the pain. Relief surged through him when his involuntarily clenching around Eren's dick stopped.

The bite was firm enough to drain the tension from his locked-up muscles but not hard enough to render him completely immobile. Levi gasped as endorphins raced through him, pupils blowing as he shuddered at the feel. His death-grip on the bedding relaxed, hole loosening and relieving him of any further pain.

Relaxed and pliant now, the slick made it an easy glide as the rest of Eren's cock slid into him smoothly, filling him up in one sure movement. Levi gasped as it sunk into him, spreading him wide and sheathing itself snugly. It felt indescribably _good_ and Levi could only lay panting, eyes open wide as he registered the sensations flooding him.

And fuck, there were a _lot_. The cock splitting him open, the way it lay right against his prostate, the blissful feeling of Eren's teeth in his horn, and the tight, arousing grip Eren had on his hair, making his body bend to Eren's will.

Eren bit down a bit harder on his horn, making him cry out and shudder as his body went nearly boneless with pleasure. His heat spiked at that moment, as if urging him to do what he was meant to, and a wave of slick trickled down his thighs.

Eren released his horn and reared back, able to smell the fresh wave of heat; it made his wings flap sharply in excitement and he scented the air around them. He searched for any traces of anxiety or pain, but found none. Levi’s scent was one of pure arousal and bliss, and the untested heat wrapped around his cock rippled as Levi trembled underneath him.

“Better,” Eren purred into the omega’s ear, releasing his hold on Levi’s inky black hair as well. He ran his fingers through it soothingly as the omega’s head fell forwards.

His voice was low and husky, making Levi shift a bit unconsciously as he tried to listen to what the alpha was saying, but failing as he moved in a way that had Eren's cock pressing more firmly against his prostate.

Levi gasped at the shock of pleasure that raced through him. Bracing himself on his forearms, he tentatively shifted again. “Oh,” he breathed. _Fuck_ , that was good _._ “ _Eren_.” He lifted his head and let it fall back on a low moan as it forced Eren's cock further into him.

“Mmh, _Levi_ ,” Eren growled behind him, one hand sliding back onto his hip, the other placed onto the junction of his neck and shoulder.

Long fingers splayed out over his neck; his ring finger pressed firmly against his scent gland, while the others squeezed the nape of his neck in a gesture of pure possession. Eren's body was trembling behind him, obviously trying to keep control.

Slowly, he pulled out, leaving Levi panting and empty, then with a sharp snap of his hips, the large cock was sliding back in, making Levi cry out.

“Fuck, I can’t – _Levi,_ you feel so-” Eren growled into his ear, thrusting more rapidly into Levi. Stretched wide around Eren's girth, his eyes rolled back as Eren increased the speed of his thrusts until Levi was crying out in pleasure. The alpha bent down and brushed his lips over Levi’s horn, licking and mouthing at the hard, sensitive surface.

Nearly mindless with euphoria, Levi moaned as Eren fucked him roughly, snapping his hips forward sharply. It was incredible, the fullness and constant stream of pleasure that crashed over him.

“Good,” Levi breathed, finishing Eren's sentence and reassuring the alpha that he was alright. More than alright, actually. It was better than anything he’d ever felt, and it made him desperate for more. “Feels… so good. _Fffuuuck_ ,” he panted, head dropping to hang between his shoulders limply.

Eren crooned lowly behind him, obviously having caught the words.

The effects from his horn being bitten hadn’t completely worn off; Levi felt languid and pliant as Eren thrust sharply into him, allowing the pleasure to simply wash over him, let it build within him. Eren slid his head down to nip at his neck, lapping up some of the pheromone-heavy oils. Levi shivered and tilted his head more to the side, allowing Eren to do as he wished.

A sharp nip to his throat made Levi’s hips jerk shallowly; his eyes widened when it forced him back into Eren as the alpha snapped his hips forwards. If anything, it felt even better than it had before, which Levi had thought impossible.

Licking his dry lips, Levi braced his knees and tentatively repeated the motion, a small shiver racing up his spine when Eren's pace faltered for a moment and a low moan came from the alpha. He’d been relatively quiet thus far aside from the occasional growls and breathy gasps; hearing such a debauched, open sound from Eren made his desire skyrocket and with a bit more confidence, Levi thrust back again, meeting Eren and sheathing himself onto his hard cock.

The fingers around his nape squeezed and Eren pulled away from his neck to lick at the sharp tip of Levi’s ear.

“That’s it, Levi,” Eren murmured, voice dark and pleased. His thrusting slowed and desperately, Levi pushed back, chasing the pleasure, craving the way Eren's cock speared him. Bright, lustful teal eyes watched as he sunk into Levi again and again, the tight ring of muscle stretched taut around his cock. “Fuck your pretty ass on my cock. _So_ good for me.”

Levi choked at the words, shame making warmth suffuse his cheeks, but it was gone in an instant as Eren kept murmuring praise mixed with filthy words into his ear. He did as Eren told him to, wings flapping slowly for leverage as he thrust his hips back to impale himself on the large girth; the alpha eventually built up their pace again until Eren was fucking him roughly again and Levi was crying out in pleasure.

He could feel it building slowly within him, the pleasure that felt like it should be culminating into _something_ , but Levi knew he wouldn’t be able to reach it. Memories of his first heat flashed through his mind, the countless hours trying to soothe the burning need in his veins and apprehension flashed through him.

He couldn’t go through that again.

“Please!” Levi cried, pushing back towards Eren. He braced himself with one arm so he wouldn’t get knocked over with Eren's brutal pace and started to reach down to grab his cock, unsure if it would help but needing to do _something_.

Eren growled and his hand snapped forwards to grab Levi’s wrist, pulling his arm back and forcing him to bend.

Levi’s wings flapped weakly as Eren kept pulling, attempting to keep his balance and they brushed over Eren's side. Eren groaned at the feel of the smooth, soft wings and slowed his thrusting so as to not make Levi fall over. The slower pace made Levi squirm in need, craving the rough fucking until he realized that Eren was trying to calm him down by switching paces.

The slower pace didn’t keep the pleasure from building, but it did help cool some of the desperation. Levi let out a conflicted sob, not sure if he wanted the sweet torture of the rough fucking or if he wanted Eren to keep slowly sheathing his dick within his ass, letting him feel every thick, solid inch as it slid over his prostate.

Eren crooned softly and kept gently pulling on Levi’s arm until the omega figured out what he wanted.

His thighs shook as he pushed back with one arm, spreading his knees and shuffling backwards until the omega was straddling Eren's thighs. Eren pressed his torso along Levi’s back, growling in pleasure at the feel of Levi’s silky wings pressed against him.

Levi’s head fell back against his shoulder and Eren looked down at him, hips stuttering as arousal shot through him at the pleasured look upon the sprite’s face. His cheeks were flushed, eyelids fluttering in pleasure and lips parted to allow a constant stream of moans and cries to slip out.

Letting out a guttural growl, Eren pressed one hand over Levi’s toned stomach to brace him and wrapped the other around Levi’s broad chest to prevent him from falling forwards. Sitting back, Eren used his leverage to push Levi down onto his cock. It allowed him to go further inside that tight, wet heat than he had before and judging by the way Levi jerked and cried out, the omega appreciated it as well.

Levi seemed beyond words, scrabbling for something to grab onto as Eren fucked him. Eren winced as Levi’s small claws scratched at his skin, leaving lines of lightly-bleeding scratches down his sides.

Growling as Levi’s claws drew blood, he turned his head to nip sharply at Levi’s horn, relieved when the omega instantly stopped clawing at him and his whole body relaxed. Eren slowed down enough to grab one of Levi’s hands and place it on his shoulder before wrapping his arm back around Levi’s chest.

The omega’s fingers immediately dug into the muscle there, but much more lightly, as if sensing than he had hurt Eren. Levi was loose and pliant now, allowing Eren to pull him even closer. Levi’s wings were smooth and almost hot against his skin, and with his neck so close to Eren’s face, he could smell Levi’s concentrated heat scent even more. He turned his head to lick at the gland there, groaning lowly when Levi’s wet heat tightened and rippled around him.

God, everything about Levi drove him slightly insane, and the sprite straddling his thighs was the best thing he’d ever felt or experienced, in _every_ single way. Even if they hadn’t been soulmates, Levi would have ruined him for anyone else. But there would be no one else – not for either of them.

The thought made possessiveness well within him and he clutched Levi closer, wanting as much contact with that searing hot skin as possible. 

Giving a low purr, Eren slowed his thrusting, closing his eyes to savor the feel of Levi drawing him deep each time he slid in, and gripping at his cock as if to keep him inside each time he drew out. Levi seemed a bit disgruntled at the change of pace, but when Eren nipped lightly at his horn once more, it drew a pleasured moan, and the sound of it coming in Levi’s deep voice made him snap his hips a bit more sharply.

He kept the slow pace, sliding his hand down Levi’s stomach a bit to hold him steady as he drew back his hips and slowly slid back inside of Levi – only to suddenly still completely, eyes going wide. His fingers tensed over Levi’s stomach, pressing in a bit in disbelief.

Was that-?

Levi let out a strange sound that was a half-whine, half-growl and pushed back against Eren, desperate and needy. The shocked alpha let him, feeling the bump move against his palm again.

“Fucking – Eren, _fucking_ don’t _stop-_ ” Levi panted, keening in need and squirming anxiously on Eren’s cock.

“ _Wait,”_ Eren growled, voice thick with a command and immediately Levi stopped, panting and lifting his head up, turning to stare at Eren though heavy-lidded eyes.

“Eren,” he rasped, voice raw and scratchy. “ _Eren_ , c’mon, _please_.”

His begging fell on deaf ears because Eren suddenly looked down over Levi’s shoulder, a shell-shocked expression on his face. His eyes were locked onto Levi’s stomach as he gave another slow thrust that had Levi’s eyelids fluttering at the feel of slowly being stretched and filled. 

“Levi,” Eren said, voice sounding strange as he began to thrust languidly up into the hot, willing body. “Fuck.”

It wasn’t enough; Levi needed more, faster, need clawing through him and he twisted in Eren’s grasp, heat coming back with a vengeance now that he wasn’t being fully satisfied. Eren looked back up and over at him before grabbing Levi’s hand and pulling it down. Curious, Levi stilled momentarily and let Eren guide his hand down to his stomach.

“Feel,” Eren rumbled, and Levi tentatively ran his fingers over quivering muscle, shivering a bit as he experienced what had Eren so worked up.

“Ah,” Levi breathed, fingers tentatively feeling against the bump. A sharp spike of arousal cut through him and he hissed out a breath through his teeth, trembling with the effort to stay still and not grind down just to feel Eren move within him.

He could – Eren’s cock was pressing against the walls of his stomach.

It wasn’t overly noticeable, but as the alpha thrust slowly and sharply into him, he took his hand away so he could see Eren’s cock moving underneath his tight abs and taut skin. He went still in shock as Eren sheathed himself and pressed his hand against Levi’s stomach, feeling the way his cock moved inside of the omega.

“ _Levi_ ,” Eren half-growled, half-wheezed. He sounded like he’d been punched in the stomach and Levi whined, letting his head fall back onto Eren’s shoulder. The alpha kept palming his stomach as he thrust, head looking over Levi’s shoulder to watch the delicious sight of his dick moving within Levi as he picked up the pace.

Panting, desperately trying to hold on to Eren’s broad shoulder, he reached back and tangled his fingers in Eren’s long hair, tugging it free of the bun. It spilled down around Eren’s shoulders and brushed over Levi’s hand like silk. He inched them upwards, crying out when a particularly rough thrust against his prostate sent a jolt of pleasure through him.

Eren’s turquoise-colored horns caught on the edges of his vision and he sucked in a sharp breath as an idea sparked. He remembered the bliss that spread through him when Eren touched his horn, knew it had a similar effect on alphas and betas, minus the immobilizing response.

“E-Eren,” he panted, fingertips close to the base of his turquoise-colored horn. “Can- let me,” he gasped raggedly, unable to form words. It took a second for Eren to understand what Levi was asking, but when he did, the alpha groaned and nodded.

“Fuck yes,” he growled, aroused beyond belief at the image of Levi holding onto his horn for leverage while he was brutally fucked. “Go on, do it,” Eren encouraged lowly, tilting his head so Levi was more easily able to reach them.

Anticipation surged through him; he had no idea how it would feel, but he remembered the dazed look on Levi’s face when he had done it shortly after they met, and could only imagine it felt amazing. 

Levi’s fingers crept up, lifted off his head and paused for a single moment before they finally reached back and curled around the bottom of his horn in a gentle grasp.

It was like a surge of raw adrenaline and pleasure coursed through his body as Levi gripped the sensitive horn.

Eren gasped, his hips faltering for a few seconds as he got used to the feel. Levi’s fingers gently rubbed over the length of Eren’s horn, and his eyes closed as electricity seemed to skitter across his skin at the gentle, questing touch.

Levi’s fingers tightened around his horn now that he knew the alpha was enjoying it and a spike of raw lust shot through him.

“I-fuck, Levi,” he growled, arms tightening around the sprite as he shuddered. His head bowed down and he whispered, “Hold on,” into Levi’s ear before his mouth latched onto a sensitive scent gland and resumed his brutal thrusting.

Levi’s cries were music to his ears, egging him on as they fell from his lips and the omega gripped his horn more tightly, using it as a handhold to prevent himself from falling over at the harsh force Eren was using. Eren growled ferally and thrust faster, getting close to his release and unable to stop as the constant grip on his horn sent waves of bliss through him.

Right before he was on the verge of coming, Eren snarled and jerked his head away, stilling deep inside of Levi’s body.

Panting, he wrested control back of himself and held it off, unwilling to come just yet. The time wasn’t right; he needed Levi absolutely gone and mindless with pleasure so that the bite wouldn’t hurt, so that he’d come hard enough he wouldn’t feel any pain.

Levi cried out and keened in desperation, close to coming himself, frantic to come and make the pleasure coiling hotly in his stomach snap. Mindlessly, he reached for his cock, ass clenching and rippling around Eren’s cock in a desperate bid to make the alpha knot him. He craved it, needed the thick girth stretching him wide and filling him up.

Right before his fingers were able to wrap around his throbbing dick, Eren snatched his wrist and jerked it back harshly.

“That won’t help,” Eren panted, closing his eyes and trying to control himself, almost wild with the need to thrust back up into Levi’s squirming body. The omega was crying out and moaning almost mindlessly, trying to entice Eren to move again. His thighs and knees were trembling too hard, were too weak for him to truly ride Eren, so instead he just ground down on the large, thick cock filling him.

Pleasure kept pooling within him, building and he felt so close, on the edge of a release that wouldn’t come.

“Fuck- it’s – it’s, need to, I _need_ ,” Levi panted, twisting and writhing in an effort to find release. His dick ached from being so hard and every time Eren's cock ground against his prostate, it made the pleasure keep building within him- but had nowhere to go.

The pleasure burning within his loins and spreading through his body seemed almost unbearable, almost as if he were climbing a mountain that kept going higher with no sight in end. He craved the release, but without knowing what the sensation would be like, Levi almost worried that it would be too much.

“Shit,” Eren swore, and then he was pulling out roughly. Levi sobbed at the aching emptiness, the frustration making tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Swiftly, he was flipped onto his back and Eren hooked his arms underneath Levi’s knees, jerking him backwards and filling Levi up in one sharp movement.

Levi’s wings flapped against the ground helplessly as Eren spread him wide and pulled him up. Splayed out like this, Eren could see every line of muscle on Levi’s body, every expression that crossed his face and it was better than he’d ever imagined. Levi’s milky white skin seemed luminous in the low, soft light, every groove shadowed and standing out in high relief. His silver eyes were heavy-lidded, yet bright with pleasure, a pink flush streaking over high cheekbones. His cock was hard against his stomach, the head flushed a tantalizing rose color and dripping with precum.

“Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” Eren rasped, shuddering a bit as the sight brought him closer to orgasm.

Levi bit his lip on the next low moan that he gave and Eren's eyes were immediately drawn to the full, red-bitten lips. The next shift of his hips had him striking Levi’s prostate directly and the sprite’s lips parted.

Licking his lips, Eren was unable to resist the tantalizing offer and he fell forwards, placing his hands near Levi’s shoulders and bending the sprite in half. Levi jerked and cried out as Eren's cock drove even further into him and Eren caught Levi’s lips, biting at the plump bottom one gently, nipping at it.

It took a moment for Levi’s pleasure-hazed brain to register what was happening, but then Eren's tongue plunged into his mouth and was rubbing against his own. He shivered under the onslaught and reached out blindly to grab Eren's forearms, desperate for something to hang onto.

As he responded tentatively, pressing his lips more firmly against Eren's soft ones, the alpha shuddered and Levi felt his cock starting to swell a bit.

Eren's knot.

A surge of mixed apprehension and desire spread through him at the realization.

Every time Eren thrust, he could feel it catching on his rim slowly yet surely, making him shiver at the continuous stretch.

His body craved it, called out for it and yet, he was almost afraid. What would happen when Eren swelled inside of him, tying them together? What about the bite? And-

Levi cried out, toes curling as the mass started pushing against his prostate. Eren seemed to clue in immediately, because he grinned ferally and adjusted so the knot ground almost continuously against that spot. It felt good, almost painfully so, and he was so sensitive he didn’t know if he wanted Eren to stop or keep going.

His thoughts and feelings were conflicted; he wanted to keep going like this forever, he wanted to stop because it was all so much and it hurt but didn’t hurt and it was just _too much, fuck_.

“Doing so well,” Eren rasped. “You feel – so good, fuck, you’re so gorgeous, I’m gonna fill you up so good,” he panted, thoughts scattering amidst the feel of Levi’s rippling, wet heat around him. His growing knot was extremely sensitive, and he was getting close to coming.

His eyes blazed as he watched the smooth slide of his cock into the puffy, stretched hole, the way he could see it moving within Levi and his arousal spiked at the sight. Levi was so much smaller than him, it seemed impossible that his knot would fit inside the smaller man, but even as it grew and became bigger, Levi’s hole kept stretching to accommodate it, sucking Eren in even as it became harder to thrust.

The filthy sound of his hips hitting Levi’s ass, of slick squelching and Levi’s hoarse cries only made his arousal surge and he tightened his arms around the sprite’s knees, fingers digging into the supple muscle of his thighs.

“Fuck,” Eren growled, eyes locking onto Levi’s neck, saliva starting to pool in his mouth at the thought of sinking his teeth into that lovely neck, of Levi’s sweet, pheromone-soaked oils flooding into his mouth and saturating the air around them. The tension curling in his dick grew even tighter and Levi’s eyes slitted open, gazing at Eren blearily.

“Levi, fuck, I’m close,” he snarled. “Can I – I _need_ – let me bond you, fuck, _please_ \- _Levi_!”

At the words, Levi’s stomach clenched and he cried out as another wave of heat hit him; everything was too much, and he was close to crying at the overstimulation. He just wanted this to end, to have relief from the scorching heat and unending pleasure.

“ _Please,”_ Levi whispered, his entire body tight and thrumming in anticipation and want. He arched his back a bit, quivering when it pressed Eren's knot more firmly against his prostate. “I _can’t_ ,” he half-moaned, half panted, claws digging into the skin of Eren’s forearms. Eren swelled even faster within him and Levi cried out at the sudden sharp, burning stretch.

Growling, Eren dipped his head, pushing his leaking scent gland against Levi’s mouth. “ _Do it!”_ he commanded, barely able to hold back his orgasm anymore

Hanji had said the bond would be stronger if Levi bit him first, if he allowed Levi to claim him first. There was the raging need within him to have everything go perfectly, for him to be unequivocally Levi’s.

Levi was unable to resist the thick layer of command in the alpha’s voice. He pushed up and lightning-fast, he sunk his teeth into Eren’s neck, canines slicing through his right gland first. Eren's hips stuttered at the pain for a second, but even as he was turning his head, Levi was striking again, teeth sinking deeply into the left gland, shuddering as the bond blazed to life between them.

Eren gasped as their link burned through him, and suddenly he _felt_ Levi. The omega’s presence was a soothing weight in the back of his mind and a myriad of emotions, feelings, and thoughts flowed into him. Levi gasped and dropped back down onto the bed, eyes wide and locked with Eren's.

He knew Levi was experiencing the same thing as he was, and Eren suddenly knew why Levi was so desperate.

Fuck, it almost _hurt_ , the intensity of the pleasure that Levi was feeling; it threatened to make his vision white out and his eyes roll back, but at the same time, the feedback loop caused his own to grow and suddenly, he couldn’t hold back anymore.

With a guttural, desperate growl, Eren snapped his hips forwards one last time, burying his knot deeply within Levi as it swelled to its full size, tying them together. The rippling of Levi’s ass massaging his knot and the pleasure searing between them drew his orgasm from him and he shuddered through it, completely overtaken by the pleasure. The knot seemed to make everything more intense, his orgasm more intense than any he’d had before, fueled by the pleasure Levi was feeling.

Levi’s eyes widened and he cried out as Eren shoved the knot into him, the stretch and burn of it making him choke. He could feel Eren coming inside of him, hot cum filling him up. It was a strange sensation but so, so good. He moaned as it kept coming, feeling Eren's orgasm through their bond. Instinctively he threw his head back onto the bedding, exposing his neck and swollen scent glands.

Eren's cock kept jerking within him, and right as it seemed to be dying down, Eren swiftly lunged forwards and sunk his canines into Levi’s neck, piercing the scent gland. Before he could react or cry out at the sharp spike of pain, Eren was ripping his head away and then biting down on the other side, sealing the bond between them and irrevocably connecting their souls together.

As soon as Eren's teeth sunk into the second gland, Levi finally came, body jerking as he screamed.

His back arched, claws digging into the bedding and clutching at what he could to ground himself, entire body going taut as his vision whited. Ecstasy surged through him, mind blanking as finally, _finally_ , he came, the pleasure coiling within his gut snapping and flowing outwards in continuous, long-lasting waves.

It was everything he had ever wanted it to be, better than anything he could have possibly ever imagined and so intense his vision whited. He was caught up in the throes of pure bliss, unable to do anything other than close his eyes and shudder through it. His cock jerked, cum shooting from it and tears leaked from the corner of his eyes at the intensity.

It felt like a long time before the waves of pleasure finally ebbed, and it left him breathless. When he was able to open his eyes and they focused again, he stared up at Eren, still a bit overwhelmed.

There was a soft smile on Eren’s handsome, tanned face and a warm, pleased look in his eyes. His wings were curled around them in a warm, comforting blanket of shimmering aqua, instinctively shielding the vulnerable omega. They brushed over Levi’s arms and he shivered at the velvety softness of them, sighing a bit at the soothing touch.

“Hey, Levi,” he said quietly, looking almost a bit shy.

Levi blinked slowly, lazily as he stared up at his _asula_. It was like he was seeing Eren for the first time all over again, and a surge of emotion welled up within him. Eren had stayed with him, helped him through his heat and taken care of him in every possible way.

And it had been nothing less than perfect.

 _Eren_ was nothing less than perfect. His friend, lover, the other half of his soul. And Levi was so in love with him.

A small, lazy smile curled his lips up and he rasped out an, “Eren.”

His throat was a bit sore, but that would pass in time. He could heal the sore vocal cords, but he wanted to experience every single feeling he could, wanted the reminder of what they’d done to linger as long as possible.

He could feel the tentative touch of Eren reaching out along their bond and mirrored it, the presence of the alpha a constant, comforting weight in the back of his mind. He couldn’t hear Eren’s thoughts, but he could get feelings, flashes of images coming through cleanly and they both marveled at the feel of knowing another person so intimately.

 _This is you,_ they both thought.

 _Yes,_ they both answered, and the intimacy of having Eren inside him, surrounding him in every possible way brought a low, satisfied noise to his lips. He couldn’t help the low purr that vibrated in his chest as he lightly stretched, feeling languid and boneless.

Eren leaned back, shifting Levi’s legs until they were loosely draped over his arms, allowing the omega the freedom to stretch them a bit before Levi dropped them once more, letting the alpha bear their weight and prevent the knot from tugging painfully.

“How are you feeling?” Eren asked, palming the smooth skin in a comforting gesture as he peered down at the bloodied marks on Levi’s neck. He could feel the bliss coming through their bond, but he still worried that Levi was uncomfortable in some way and wanted to hear how the omega felt without assuming anything.

A mixture of blood and oil was slowly dripping down his shoulders and Levi blinked, seeming a bit beyond words. There was a sated, fulfilled look in his eyes that made Eren’s alpha preen in joy. His scent was still dark and alluring in his heat, but the warm sweet lavender and honey lingering underneath was thick with satisfaction. 

Levi licked his lips and a hoarse sort of purring rumble came from his throat, almost like he was clearing it.

“Good,” Levi replied hoarsely, his normally smooth, deep voice a bit wrecked from the abuse. It reminded him of all the sounds he’d been able to pull from Levi, the memory of the sharp cries and low moans making him shiver a bit. “ _Really_ good, actually.”

And he was. His ass was a bit sensitive, his neck sore, but the heat had died down into a low simmer that he was able to easily ignore. Levi’s mind felt clearer now that the heat haze was ever so slowly dissipating, and it felt good to be able to form coherent sentences again.

Levi felt better than he had in his entire life, actually.

Eren looked pleased and happy, his scent of fresh ocean and warm sunshine speaking volumes for his mood. It was reassuring and his omega wanted to coo at the way their sated, content scents and pheromones lingered heavily in the air.

Eren hummed, pleased at that and the satisfaction that he could feel coursing through their bond. He shifted forwards to lick gently at Levi’s neck, tasting their intermingled scents and the metallic tang of blood. It made the omega shiver a bit but then he bared his neck a bit more, sighing in contentment as Eren dutifully cleaned the oozing bites.

It helped the soreness fade and made him feel better now that blood and scent-infused oil wasn’t dripping everywhere. Levi winced a bit as he thought of the state of his bedding, but he couldn’t bring himself to care when his entire body and mind felt so content and loose.

Eren gave one last lick to his now-clean neck and then Levi was pushing himself up as much as he could to return the favor, reaching up to grab Eren’s arm for leverage. Eren rumbled happily and bent down, exposing his pierced scent glands. The taste of blood made Levi’s nose wrinkle, but underneath that, he could taste himself and Eren. It made Levi press closer, wanting to experience more of their entwined scents.

Eren moaned and impulsively thrust his hips forward at the feel of Levi’s warm, soft tongue licking across the sensitive skin of his neck. An idea sparked and he smirked quietly to himself when Levi stiffed and moaned at the feel, body going taut.

He’d made a promise, after all.

Eager to deliver, Eren pulled Levi’s thighs a bit higher and forwards, using the leverage to grind his thick mass into Levi, giving short, sharp thrusts, as much as the knot would allow. He heard Levi gasp and smiled to himself, closing his eyes as he focused on making Levi come once more, knowing it wouldn’t take very long.

The grinding triggered something deep within Levi, an entire bodily response he was helpless to ignore. A ripple started deep within his channel and Levi could do nothing as the constant grind against his prostate caused pleasure to rapidly escalate in him.

The intensity of it made him gasp, unable to form words as he stared up at Eren. Wide, stunned silver eyes met bright teal, and there was a distinctly pleased expression on Eren's face.

He wanted to ask what was going on, but suddenly the feeling building within him snapped and with a shocked, choked-off noise, Levi was coming _hard_ , back arching as his cock jerked and more cum seeped out from it.

“Remember what I said, Levi?” Eren purred, enjoying the way Levi’s rippling channel constricted around his length and shuddering as he felt Levi’s pleasure through their bond. It was like he was coming again, though he experienced it as if through a filter.

God, this was going to be _good._

The omega just panted, still coming down from the sudden, intense high and looking absolutely shellshocked.

“What…?” Levi rasped, body still shivering a little bit. “I don’t…”

With a pleased grin, Eren thrust his hips forward again, grinding down and watching as that same stunned look came to Levi’s face. His thin eyebrows drew together and lips parted as that pleasurable rippling started again deep within his omega. Eren could feel it, gauge how fast the orgasm was coming and decided to draw it out a bit more.

He slowed his grinding, enjoying the way Levi’s thighs tensed in his arms, relishing the feel of strong, corded muscle. Levi’s cock was still hard against his stomach and Eren wished he had a free hand to stroke it. This position would be easier to make Levi come in, but…

Biting his lip, Eren continued grinding against Levi’s prostate, watching enraptured as Levi’s body tensed, fingers tightening around his forearms as he came again, and fuck, it was the most beautiful thing Eren had ever seen. He could spend hours watching Levi come over and over; the way his eyebrows drew together, eyes slipping shut and head tilting back was the most erotic thing Eren had ever seen.

As Levi shuddered through another orgasm, gripping his arm tightly, Eren inspected the bites over the scent glands. Hanji had said it would take about a day for the marks to fully form and darken, which meant that by the time the heat was over, everyone would see them and know Levi was his.

It was a satisfying thought on a primal level and Eren's alpha purred. Purred even more when Levi’s eyes slipped back open, a dazed look in them. His pale cheeks had a faint flush to them once more and Eren was absolutely enchanted.

He really hoped Levi would let him do this all day; the omega deserved it and Eren wanted desperately to see him strung out and drunk off of the pleasure.

“What… is this?” Levi rasped, still panting heavily as his wings twitched and flapped weakly against the bedding. He seemed confused and dazed; Eren wanted to wrap Levi up in his wings and keep him like this forever.

“Think of it as… the releasing of nearly four hundred years of pent-up sexual desire, if you want,” Eren hummed, smirk widening as Levi’s eyes grew wide at the implications, already beginning that slow, deliberate grind again. “Apparently, omegas are extremely sensitive after knotting, even moreso after their first time.”

“ _Wait_ ,” Levi started, things piecing themselves together in his pleasure-fogged brain, but he was cut off by Eren's lips pressing over his as that rippling started again from deep within him. It was just as powerful as the last and he cried out, wings flaring out as he came yet again, hips jerking into Eren's knot.

The alpha growled a bit against his lips, half-aroused and half playful. “You keep moving like that, and I’m gonna get hard again,” Eren told him; he was rewarded with a slow, hazy blink.

Levi barely looked like he could string two words together, let alone understand what Eren was saying.

“You… _what?”_ he mumbled, letting his head drop back into the bedding. His thighs were trembling in Eren's arms and it looked like the position was starting to get uncomfortable.

Carefully, being sure not to tug at the knot and hurt Levi, Eren lowered them down onto the bedding. He let one of Levi’s legs down, shifting them so they were on their sides with Eren propped on his elbow. He curled a wing over them, blanketing them in warm softness as he drew Levi’s other leg up and over his thigh, rocking his hips a bit into Levi to make sure he was still snugly inside and had a good range of motion.

Judging by Levi’s sharp inhale, he was. Levi looked absolutely wrecked, and it was enough for Eren to start getting hard again, his length swelling within the slick, hot tightness of Levi’s body.

“Are you… what the hell?” Levi mumbled, still a bit out of it. Confused silver eyes met his own and thin black brows furrowed in consternation. “Are you hard again?”

“Yeah,” Eren sighed, grinning a bit. “I can’t help it; you’re just too pretty.”

Levi merely blinked at him, mind still a bit muddled, and Eren's grin grew wider.

It was strange but so, so nice to see Levi like this, so languid and loose-limbed. It caused a low purr to build in his throat. He leaned down to sniff at Levi’s neck, satisfied at the way their scents had begun to entwine and the smell of blissful, yet still-aroused omega.

When they had scent marked each other earlier, their oils had soaked into the others’ scent glands. Then, when they had bitten down and damaged them, it ensured that when they healed, they’d be producing a mixture of their scents.

Even now, Eren could smell a faint trace of himself underneath the scent of warm, sweet lavender. No one would be able to scent the omega without smelling him as well, and it made a swell of possessiveness rise within him.

Eren could still smell the heat lowly simmering with Levi, though it was faint at the moment. He knew that over the course of the day it would peak again and again, but Eren would be there to help Levi through it, make sure the omega got exactly what he needed.

The thought of being able to serve Levi in such a way had his alpha growling in approval. It made his cock harden even faster, swelling within the tight heat of Levi’s ass as he ground into the omega.

“I – Eren, _wait_ ,” Levi said, a faint note of confusion threading into his voice even as his head tilted back slightly and back arched instinctively. “I – _wait_ , what are you doing?”

His voice was still a bit hoarse from screaming, and the thought had Eren’s grip on the pale, smooth thigh drawn over his hip tightening as arousal spiked through him. The omega was still hard, still gripping him so tightly and he had to bite back a growl.

Levi looked absolutely dazed and fucked-out, but Eren wanted to push that, wanted Levi twitching and incoherent, until he couldn’t think about anything else but Eren and what he could give him.

“Remember what I said?” Eren practically purred, a wicked smile tilting his full lips up. There was a satisfied, yet hungry gleam in his eyes as he gazed down at Levi.

_Hanji told me about your biology… told me I can keep you coming on my knot over and over again._

Eren saw the realization dawn across Levi’s flushed face, his silver eyes widening as he truly, finally understood what Eren could do, _was going to_ do to him. It made his alpha absolutely ravenous, wanted to show the pretty omega exactly how much pleasure he could wring out of him.

He knew it was partially the rut talking and fueling his desires, but a softer part of him just truly wanted to make Levi feel as good as possible.

The thought of what Eren intended to do made a flash of mixed arousal and fear race through him, especially when Eren was smiling down at him so sharply and eagerly. Could feel the eagerness and desire leaking through their bond and in a distant part of his mind, Levi wondered if it was possible to literally die from too much pleasure.

Already, he was getting a bit sensitive, the constant pressure of the knot making him twitch and shudder a bit. But he couldn’t really bring himself to protest, not when it felt so _good_. Not when he was finally able to revel in how good it felt to come, to have that delightful relief.

Eren thrust forwards, grinding his knot against his prostate once more and he could feel Eren hardening within him fully. Eren growled playfully against his neck as Levi shivered, pleasure starting to rise within him once more.

The alpha gently took hold of his hand and guided it down to his still-erect cock. Instinctively, Levi wrapped his fingers around it, shuddering at the feel. It was different than how Eren’s touch had felt, but even the lightest touch had him shivering as that telltale rippling started deep within him once more.

Instinctively, he stroked himself, hand tightening around Eren’s arm as the pleasure quickly rose within him once more, spurred by his own touch. It crested sharply, broke, and then spread throughout his body.

His head tilted back, and Levi moaned as he stroked himself through the orgasm, still a bit in shock at how fast it had happened. He could barely believe how purely good it felt, how easily Eren was able to bring him to the edge and push him over. His cock twitched in his hand, only a small spurt of cum dribbling from it.

Eren whispered praise in his ear as he worked Levi through it, until the omega was left panting and looking a bit wonderstruck, still clenching a bit around the thick knot.

Levi stroking himself through orgasm was just as good an image as Eren had imagined, and he could feel his arousal spike, lust pooling within him as Levi clamped down around his hard length. It made his hips buck up into the tight heat as much as he could with them still tied together, and fuck if it wasn’t the most amazing thing he’d ever felt.

Eren’s voice right next to his ear was low and quiet, fervent in a way that had Levi hanging onto every word.

“I think,” Eren said quietly, watching as Levi’s wings waved weakly against the bedding, “that I want to see how many times you can come before my knot goes down, or until you’re too sensitive to keep going. Keep coming inside you until you’re too full to take anymore, and after it goes down, do it all over again.”

The words made Levi freeze and as they processed, all he could do was stare, wide-eyed at Eren as the alpha smiled. They sparked a deep, dark desire within him and he could feel the heat tingling through his body start to rise up once more, ready to be unleashed as soon as Eren’s knot went down.

“Oh,” Levi whispered, swallowing a bit.

He was absolutely _fucked_ , in every literal and metaphorical sense of the word.

Eren could feel what he was feeling, could sense what he was thinking, so there was no way to disguise the sharp feeling of anticipation that struck through him at the words.

Knew Eren had felt it when he ground a bit harder, smiling against the sore skin of his scent gland as he felt Levi shiver and submit.

Levi surrendered fully, and allowed Eren to take care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m atheist af but I still feel like I need to find Jesus. Father, I have sinned; I had way too much fun writing this. 
> 
> One last chapter to wrap everything up, kiddos.


	8. The light of the stars give way to dawn; we remember their guiding light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dr. Jaeger?” A slim young man was standing in front of Grisha, peering at him curiously. “You are Grisha Jaeger, correct?”
> 
> Grisha blinked for a second, then looked down at the blonde with large, inquisitive blue eyes. “Yes, I am.”
> 
> “Oh good. Eren's description was correct. I’m Armin Arlert. I was on the expedition to Paradis with him and grew quite close to him as a friend. He gave me a letter to give you and wants you to know he’s perfectly alright.”
> 
> Know. Present tense. Eren was alive.
> 
> “Where is he?”
> 
> A strange expression crossed Armin’s delicate face. “Ah, he chose to stay on Paradis for personal reasons.”
> 
> “Your band left him alone in that country?” Grisha frowned.
> 
> Armin winced. “Ah, well…” he sighed and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. On the front, in Eren's slightly messy writing, ‘To: Father’ was written. “As I’ve said, I have a letter, but why he chose to stay… well, do you mind if we speak privately at your house?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My cat is small (she was the runt and her growth was stunted when she was a kitten) and when she gets startled, (very easily, she’s a sp00ky kitty) she puffs up and it’s adorable because sweetheart, there isn’t enough fur in the world that can make your tiny, floofy butt intimidating but I love you for trying anyway.
> 
> Any strange typos in this story are dedicated to (and are the cause of) the world’s clingiest cat. I can’t get her off my keyboard and don’t have the heart to move her and she is very, very much aware of this.
> 
> Edit: Fixed a continuity error - I was dumb and didn't realize that when Eren wrote his letter, he didn't know the place was called "Paradis" so I've edited that.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Levi’s voice was quiet and close to Eren’s ear, and the alpha sighed a bit, considering the words.

The lone light in the group of darkened tents shone brightly in the light, drawing their eyes. Levi was crouched next to him on the branch they had dropped onto, his eyes glinting silver in the darkness.

The bonding marks had bloomed beautifully over his skin, and Eren felt a surge of pride whenever he saw them at the base of either side of Levi’s neck. Knew Levi was pleased whenever the omega saw his own on Eren’s throat, the two tear-like, curved lines slashing across his scent gland.

Eren wore them proudly, purposefully picking lower-cut shirts to hide it.

When Levi had figured out what he was doing, there had been a spark of satisfaction in his eyes even as Levi smacked him upside the head and chided, _“They can literally smell us on each other, you idiot.”_

Still, he kept doing it because for all of Levi’s protests, he was more than happy to allow Eren to flaunt the evidence of their bond, could sense the approval oozing from his omega.

It was a bit hard to hide things like that when their very souls and minds were linked, after all.

Eren had seen Armin go into the tent earlier, and his heart had clenched when he saw how desolate and lost his human friend looked. He’d met Armin on the boat that brought his expedition here and instantly formed a strong friendship with him; Eren couldn’t just let his friend think he was _gone._ And what of his father? It would break his heart for Eren not to return home, to just disappear into the wild.

It would be so, so easy to just turn around, to disappear among the sprites, but Eren’s conscience would not allow him to do that. His friend and father needed closure, and while Levi and Erwin hadn’t been exactly _happy_ with his plan, they knew that this was something he needed in order to feel truly at peace.

If he didn’t at least _try_ , it would leave a festering sore on his heart that he would always regret.

It hadn’t gone over well with Levi, especially after Eren told him more about their culture. He couldn’t sugarcoat it; while humans were brilliant and adventurous, they could also be cruel and greedy, much to Levi’s surprise and disgust.

While some sprites could truly be dangerous despite their peaceful nature, Eren knew humans would be even more so.

Eren’s eyes were drawn to the small line of lighter black at the tip of Levi’s outer wing. The omega saw where his gaze was drawn and he flicked his wings. “Don’t worry about it,” Levi said quietly. “In time, it’ll fade, and until then, it serves as a reminder as to why we should keep the Startouched a secret.”

Eren nodded, but it still sent a pang through his heart. Levi seemed to have come to terms with it, but it served as a constant reminder of what had happened, the pain Levi had been put through.

“Don’t get sentimental on me now,” Levi chided, flicking him in the face with a wing, though his eyes were soft and a subtle reassurance seeped through their bond. “We have a job to do.”

Eren blinked at the soft reprimand and shook his head in order to rid himself of his dismal musings. Levi was here with him, and it was only a small scar that would fade due to the regenerative abilities of sprites.

“Right,” Eren nodded, mustering his courage and reaching inside his shirt to finger the letter to his father he’d written. “Let’s go see Armin. Let me do most of the talking this time,” he smiled, remembering not too long ago when they’d been in opposite positions.

Levi was more than happy to let Eren handle this situation, and he flapped his wings in assent. With more than a little nervousness, the two sprites stood from the branch they were crouching upon and soared over to the tent.

````

It was late at night, and Armin was _tired_.

His joy at being accepted into the expedition had been greatly dampened by the loss of his friend. They’d searched for Eren for days, scouring the area for any sign of him, but had come up empty. The only thing they’d found were his discarded clothes crumpled in the clearing and the faint footmarks of a jaguar.

The only explanation they’d come up with is that he’d been killed and dragged off, but everyone knew that couldn’t possibly be it. The jaguar had turned around and ran before he’d gotten to Eren, and it didn’t explain the clothes. Eren wouldn’t have had time or a reason to just shuck his clothes off and leave them lying on the ground.

Nothing they could come up with had made sense, and it was driving Armin up the wall trying to figure out what, exactly, had happened that night.

It was as if, for all intents and purposes, Eren had simply disappeared into thin air.

Some spoke of a curse, others said that Eren had gone mental and ran into the woods after discarding his clothes. But Eren wasn’t mentally unstable, and it didn’t change the fact that there had been no footprints leading away from his clothes.

It was unusual and besides the unexplainable mystery that bothered Armin, he missed his bright-eyed, cheerful friend. Eren didn’t have much experience in the world of research, but he was curious and helped Armin with observations and the writing of reports without complaint.

There was a low humming noise in the tent and Armin sighed. He should have known that his lantern would attract bugs, no matter how low he turned it down so as to not draw attention from his colleagues. It was almost time for him to go to sleep anyway; even though Eren’s disappearance put a damper on all their spirits, they still had an expedition to complete and reports to write detailing their finds.

Wings brushed against Armin’s hair and he went to bat the annoying insects away from him, but they flitted away when he raised his hand. The gust of air sent a shiver down his spine; whatever these bugs were, they must be bigger than normal, and that was definitely _not_ what Armin wanted to deal with right now.

God, he must be more tired than he realized, because now he thought he could hear faint voices behind him. A bit distantly, he wondered if one of the others had come to chide him for staying up late and were talking outside of his tent. Intending to tell them to go back to bed, he turned around –

Only to come face-to-face with two _large_ bugs. Humungous. Armin _hated_ bugs, left the research of the native insect species to his colleagues for exactly that reason, and being confronted with two of the largest ones he’d ever seen was as close to a waking nightmare as he could get.

Armin stood, stunned, for one moment before he shrieked and stumbled backwards, knocking over his small, foldable stool and groping around for something to grab to smash… the _things_ away.

His scrabbling hands found a thin book and he grasped it, raising it in preparation to bat the overlarge insects or whatever they were away, when a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Armin. Armin, _wait!_ It’s me!”

Armin’s already pale face went white as a sheet as he saw a very different-looking, very _small_ Eren hovering in front of him.

 _Well, that explains what happened with the clothes,_ Armin thought almost hysterically, hands going limp and losing his grip on the book.

The book thudded to the ground and both Eren and the other person he was with turned to watch it fall with mild interest and relief.

Eren had wings. And horns. And black marks streaking over his exposed arms, some on his neck and on his face as well. Eren’s features looked a bit different – a bit sharper, a bit more… _ageless_ , as if any human sign of aging had been smoothed over, and his ears had lengthened and become pointed at the tips.

A shorter man with dark hair and a wary expression flitted behind him, looking at Armin almost curiously. Pale, with light grey eyes and marks similar to what the new-Eren had. His wings, horns, and markings were different, however, and he had almost luminous white skin.

“Armin!” A voice rang out through the camp. “Are you okay?”

“I…” Armin’s voice was quavering, and Eren shook his head frantically, his expression pleading. He placed a finger over his lips desperately and Armin considered telling the truth for a split second before deciding that no, he’d rather not have his colleagues think he’d gone insane or was hallucinating.

Swallowing, Armin steadied his voice, praying it wouldn’t crack. “I – There was a spider. I’m fine,” he called, though his voice was still a bit shaken and faint.

There was a pause and then quiet laughter. Whoever had called out seemed to accept the explanation, however, because after a minute of tense silence, no other sounds or questions came.

Eren released a deep breath and then flitted closer. Armin watched him, eyes wide as he fully took in the new appearance of his friend.

“Hey, Armin,” Eren said, smiling at him brightly. “It’s good to see you again.”

Armin felt like he was going to faint. He must have gone a bit pale, because suddenly Eren was hovering a bit closer, his hands raising in a placating gesture.

“Whoa, hey, take it easy,” Eren said, concern crossing his features. He gestured to Armin’s overturned stool and flew over to it, pointing down in an open invitation. “Why don’t you take a seat?”

Faintly, Armin nodded and went to grab the overturned stool, righting it with shaking hands before he sunk onto it. Eren and the other winged person flitted over to the table and after hovering for a moment, closed their wings and dropped down onto it.

Eren stepped up to the edge of the table looking up at Armin’s face to give him another bright, if somewhat hesitant smile.

“Eren?” Armin whispered a bit shakily. “Are you… is this a dream? Am I hallucinating?”

They’d foraged some mushrooms earlier today and used them in their dinner; had Armin been wrong in deducing them edible? Oh, Lord, had he accidentally drugged himself and the entire expedition?

Eren looked to his black-haired companion. The smaller sprite made a gesture that Armin took to mean _go on, this is all you_ before Eren sighed and shook his head.

“Uh, no,” Eren said, grimacing a bit. “Look, I know this is really confusing, but-”

“Confusing? _Confusing?”_ Armin knew his voice was getting too loud so he lowered it to a hushed, yet fervent whisper. “Eren, you disappeared in the middle of the night after we already brought you back once! No note, your lantern still in your tent, and for all that’s holy, we found your clothes just crumpled in that clearing! And now, now you… you come back and you’re a, a _fairy?_ ”

“We’re sprites, actually,” Levi said, quirking an eyebrow. The fuck was with this fairy shit? What even _was_ a fairy?

Armin looked wildly at him and started hyperventilating, dropping his head into his hands.

Eren had had a much better reaction, Levi thought, looking at the human almost curiously.

Well, bar the flinging him into a tree thing. He wondered if Eren was the norm or the exception. Looking at the blonde human now, Levi was inclined to believe it was the latter.

The kid looked like he was on the verge of having a panic attack and Eren cast a pleading glance in his direction, a silent request being pushed through their bond.

 _Oh, fantastic idea, Eren_ , Levi thought, disapproval radiating through him at what Eren wanted him to do. _Use magic in front of the panicking human who already probably thinks he’s going insane. That’s gonna go over well._

Still, it was either that or have the human pass out in shock. Maybe he wouldn’t notice Levi’s glow with his head in his hands like that. Worth a shot.

With a sigh, Levi called upon his attunement to the Earth, letting magic flow through him and infuse his scent. It grew stronger as Levi called up more magic, the scent of lavender thickening in the room. It was infused with soothing Earth magic, and while it didn’t have a very strong effect on Armin, he at least raised his head and took a deep breath.

“Whatever you’re doing, keep doing that or I’m going to have a mental breakdown,” Armin weakly whispered, taking a few more deep breaths of the faint lavender smell that was starting to drift throughout the tent.

Levi scoffed and flicked his wings, channeling a bit more magic and focusing it in Armin’s direction before cutting the magic off, willing his glow to die down before the human saw.

He kind of felt that seeing him lit up in an unnatural way would only serve to worsen the situation.

After a few more deep breaths, the calming scent of lavender still lingering heavily in the air, Armin lifted his head slightly and his eyes flicked between Levi and Eren.

Levi eyed him speculatively, still a bit tense. The way he’d gripped the book to swat them away still had him slightly concerned, especially after experiencing the strength that humans possessed firsthand. He still remembered the way he’d hurtled through the air after Eren had tossed him, and he wasn’t eager to experience it again.

This human could squash them so easily, and it made Levi jittery, body tense in the chance he’d have to dodge and flit away to safety. “You gonna freak out anymore, or are you calm now?”

“Freak out?” Armin paused to consider a moment, gauging his emotional and mental health. While tenuous, whatever the two of them were doing was helping him considerably. “No. Calm?” Armin paused once more and found out he was decidedly very much not calm. “Also no. We didn’t…” Armin raked his hand through his hair, huffing an incredulous laugh. Fairies- sprites. He had two of them standing on his table, and one was, inexplicably, his friend. “You’re not supposed to exist! You’re nothing but myth!”

“Funny, considering I’m standing right here,” Levi drawled, folding his arms and quirking a brow.

Eren had to stifle a laugh at Levi’s dry tone. His _asula_ had a sense of humor and a deadpan delivery that never failed to make Eren laugh.

“I… okay, yeah, good point,” Armin said, defeated. He raised his hand, finger held out. “Can I…?” he asked.

Levi backed away, eyeing the finger warily. Eren stepped forwards, a strained expression on his face.

“You can touch me, but I’d rather you not Levi.”

“Levi?” He turned to the other sprite, request forgotten for the moment. Armin gave a weak smile. “That’s your name?”

Levi flicked his dark wings almost dismissively. “Do you see a fourth person in here?”

Eren threw a sharp look to the shorter sprite. Levi just looked at him levelly, but some sort of silent conversation seemed to pass between them and the other sprite sighed. He stepped a bit closer and inclined his head.

“I’m Levi Ackerman, Eren’s bonded _asula_.”

Armin didn’t miss the look of affection and fondness that Eren gave the other sprite at the words, and though Levi’s face remained impassive, his face softened a bit. It was clear that feeling ran deep between them and while Armin was still stunned, he was happy for his friend.

“The terms are a bit different, but Levi is basically my husband, though it runs much deeper than that,” Eren said, throwing the black-haired sprite another openly affectionate look.

Armin knew of Eren’s preferences for men, and to so openly admit it meant that he had finally found a place where he was openly accepted. It made Armin’s heart warm, and in that moment, he found that, okay, yes, he wasn’t dreaming. This was all too elaborate for it to be a hallucination, and even Armin doubted his mind could come up with a dream as detailed as this. 

“Eren, if it’s okay, can I… may I touch you? Is that alright?” Armin shook his head, huffing laugh. “I just want to make sure that you’re actually real.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Eren said, giving him a small nod.

Armin tentatively brough his hand up and very gently poked the now-miniature Eren. It did partially surprise him to find that the sprite was indeed, flesh and blood. The shock had worn off and now Armin’s inquisitive mind was churning with questions. He itched to get a pen and paper, to write down everything he’d experienced tonight before any detail of it faded and was forgotten.

“Armin,” Eren said, his tone serious, as if he knew what Armin wanted to do. “I know you want to write about this, but… you can’t. This is one discovery you _have_ to keep secret.”

“Eren, why? This is…” he threw his hands up, a bit incredulous that Eren wanted him to keep their existence a secret. “This is the biggest discovery in years! Possibly ever, actually!”

“What do you think they’ll do to Levi and his – _our_ people if humans found out about us?” Eren urged, gesturing at himself and Levi. “They’d capture us, put us on display or try to dissect us, keep us as pets or much worse.”

Armin stilled; he couldn’t deny that human nature, while brilliant and inquisitive in their quest for knowledge, could also be bloodthirsty and ruthless in their search.

Damn it all. Eren was right.

Armin sighed, wholly disappointed but still understanding. “I… yes, I understand. I’ll keep this a secret. I…” An idea suddenly sparked. “Would you allow me to study you if there was no chance of information getting out? What if… I remained here, lived here alone and studied you?”

Eren’s wings flicked a bit and his face looked a bit hopeful before it dropped again. “How would you manage that?”

Armin thought back of his connections within the government. He didn’t exactly know the environmental sector worked, but he knew a few people within it; it was partially the reason he’d been able to join the expedition and was approved as one of the main researchers and documenters.

“I have a few ideas,” Armin said, his blue eyes shining with sudden excitement. “It might be tricky, but I know a few people that would be able to help out.” He looked at Eren, then to Levi. “If I managed that, if I was the only human around, would you allow me to stay?”

“And if humans did come back?” Levi suddenly asked, his voice sharp. “I can’t imagine you wouldn’t take detailed notes. What if they did come back and found the information on us?” His eyes narrowed. “From what Eren’s told me of humans, it’s made me think that they can’t be trusted.”

There was a challenge in that deep voice, but even Eren looked to him, silently wondering.

Armin thought for a moment, and then winced. There would be only one option.

“I wouldn’t like it, and I’d only do it if I absolutely had to, but…” he sighed. “I would destroy any information I had on you. I’d burn it and make sure to destroy anything that could prove your existence.”

Levi’s grey eyes narrowed and he stared up at Armin in a calculated manner before he flicked his wings. Levi looked to Eren, and they seemed to have another strange, silent conversation before he looked away.

“I don’t like it,” Levi said, but there was a subdued submission in his voice that let Armin know it was his assent, even if it was unwillingly given.

His excitement grew, but he could practically feel Levi’s disapproval. For such a small creature, it radiated heavily from him, his unease practically tangible in the air.

“Levi, I know Armin,” Eren said, his voice low and soothing. “If he says that he’ll destroy the information if humans came, he would do it in a heartbeat. He values knowledge, but he’s empathetic and kind most of all. He won’t allow us to be put into danger.”

“I promise,” Armin said, his voice sincere. The world would be losing out on a vast wealth of knowledge, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized the two of them were right. Humans were ruthless and greedy; he could already imagine the sprites being trapped and carried away for any number of horrible reasons.

The presence of humans here were an endangerment to the small sprites.

“We’ll have to talk to Erwin,” Levi said to Eren before looking to Armin. “I’m not authorized to speak on the behalf of our community. If you can be alone tomorrow night as well, and if he’s amenable to it, I’ll bring our Commander here to speak with you. He’s the one you need to speak with.”

Armin blinked; he hadn’t thought of sprite society, but now he was curious. “I’ll make sure to be here.”

“Good,” Eren said, nodding at Levi. “Now,” Eren said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a piece of neatly-folded paper, “Can you get this to my father? I wasn’t able to write exactly what happened, but I have another request for you as well once I explain everything.”

Armin’s eyebrows raised as he looked at the miniscule bit of parchment. “Eren, there’s no way he’d be able to read that without a magnifying glass. He’d think it was some sort of joke, especially because they’re going to officially announce you dead when we return, since they don’t know what happened to you.”

Levi sighed as Eren blinked up at him.

“Ah,” Eren said. “Well, that complicates things.”

Levi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like _of all the stupid things_ and Eren glanced at him sheepishly.

“I keep forgetting just how small we are,” he said. He looked at the paper for a moment before turning back to Levi. “Can you make this page bigger, make it look like I was human when I wrote it?”

Levi’s eyes narrowed as they flicked between his friend and the paper. “Eren…”

“I know, you don’t like doing it that often, but it’s the only thing I can think of.” Eren gestured at the two of them and then to Armin. “I’d do it with one of their pencils if I could, but there’s no way I’d be able to hold a pencil and write in my handwriting. If it’s not, he’s going to think that they’re covering up my death or something.”

Levi’s face seemed to soften at the pleading look in Eren’s eyes. He sighed and nodded, casting a glance over at Armin. “Don’t freak out,” he warned and curious, the blonde nodded.

Eren sent the sprite a thankful glance and rustled in his pockets before withdrawing a pencil. He braced the paper against his thigh and jotted something down on it before nodding to himself and replacing the pencil. He then proffered the paper to Levi.

The sprite took the paper and then looked to Armin. “Get me a sample paper. I need to know how big to make this.”

He wondered what Levi was going to do. Curious, he reached out to his journal and after flipping it open, tore a piece out and set it down on the table next to the small sprites.

Armin watched as Levi took the letter and set it down next to the sample paper that he’d set out. He knelt by the edge and placed the dark tips of his fingers on it. He let out a deep breath and Armin’s eyes widened as Levi began glowing, light spreading across his body. The temperature in the tent dropped and there was a strange feeling in the air that made every hair on Armin’s body stand up.

Incredulously, he watched as light spread across Levi’s marks, turning them into a glowing white and his eyes melted into shimmering silver. The tips of his fingers glowed the brightest and a thin layer of frost spread over them – and then the paper _grew_.

It stretched out, growing in both size and width until it was the same size as the bigger sheet of paper, and Armin could make out the words of the letter with ease.

Eren watched keenly as Levi stood up and shook his head, appearing to waver a bit. He set a hand on Levi’s shoulder and the sprite drew a deep breath in.

“The link’s still not strong enough,” Levi murmured to him, seeming to lean in Eren’s touch. “I – Star magic takes something out of me whenever I transform something in this way. It doesn’t feel as wrong if I use my own energy, rather than the world’s.”

“I know,” Eren said softly, making an odd sort of low cooing noise. “Thank you for doing this.”

Levi made a dismissive little ‘tch’ sort of noise and nodded. “Just give me a moment.”

Eren squeezed his shoulder and walked around to examine the paper, reading over his words as if to make sure everything was in order.

Armin was absolutely shellshocked – both at the use of magic and the way Levi was still slightly glowing, though it was fading fast.

“It worked,” Eren said, glancing up at Armin and flapping his wings a bit. “You can make sure this gets to my father, right?”

Armin nodded, though he was still examining Levi, fascinated by the glow. To think, sprites and magic _actually_ existed!

He caught the worried glance Eren shot at Levi when the sprite blinked a few times, still looking a bit drained. It as obvious he cared deeply about Levi, and they seemed to have a deeper link than just husbands, or whatever the term was that Levi had used.

 _Asula? Bonded?_ Armin wondered. Were they connected somehow magically?

“Levi’s your… husband?” Armin asked, curious. “Eren, it’s only been a week since you disappeared. That’s fast.”

Eren just smiled, a certain knowing glint in his eye. “Armin, you know how Levi called himself my _asula_? It’s a term that the sprites use for soulmate.” Eren looked over to the still-glowing sprite, a soft look in his eyes. “I’ll explain it to you later, but between Levi and I…” He paused, thinking for a moment as he gazed over at the sprite who was just flicking away the frost on his fingers and examining the letter critically, narrowed eyes flicking between the sample paper and the letter. “The universe basically made us for each other. I can feel him in my soul,” he said, his voice going almost reverent as he said the last part.

Armin could only stare. Eren seemed to almost glow with happiness whenever he talked about Levi or looked at him, and it would seem that the length of time didn’t matter when talking about things that ran deeper than just a lawful binding between two people – sprites. “You… the bond between you, is it like magic?”

“Not exactly,” Levi answered this time. “It’s not quite magic, but it’s something similar.”

He looked a bit more steady now, something Armin was relieved by. Honestly, he wouldn’t know what to do with a passed-out sprite on his table.

It certainly wouldn’t be good for his overall mental health, Armin knew.

Eren sighed. “Things like this are easier to feel than to explain,” he said almost apologetically. “When we have more time, we can explain it better, but the simple explanation is that we are each one half of a single soul.”

It still didn’t make a lot of sense to Armin, but he understood the gist of what Eren was saying. Still, he itched to get a closer look at the other sprite, intrigued by the slowly-fading glow.

“That’s amazing,” he said, a bit awed. “Levi, may I… I won’t touch you, but may I look at you more closely? Can you glow again?”

Levi tilted his head, eyes narrowing in consideration before his eyes flicked to Eren. His friend made a small noise in the back of his throat that sounded like assent and Levi returned his gaze to Armin. He gave a short nod.

“Just don’t put me under a magnifying glass,” he warned, and Eren laughed brightly.

It appeared Eren had tried that, back when he’d still been human. He desperately wanted to ask for details about how they met, but they’d have time. Already, Armin was coming up with a plan to stay here longer and study the sprites. He was ability fascinated by them already, and there was so much to learn about them that it had his entire being thirsting for more knowledge.

“No promises,” Armin said cheekily. Levi blinked, as if surprised by his sudden change of attitude and then tilted his head, his lips twitching up.

“You’re more tolerable when you’re not on the verge of a panic attack,” he allowed. Armin blinked; was that a compliment or not? He really couldn’t tell. “Yeah, go on.”

Excited, Armin gave a bright smile and inched his face closer. Eren shifted, wings flicking in agitation and Armin paused. Eren had a strange look on his face and when Levi looked over, the shorter sprite sighed.

“Newly-bonded alph- sprites- are a bit protective,” Levi explained. His marks slowly lit up once more, though the glow was more muted this time. This time, there was no strange feeling or frost that crept along his fingers. Instead, that faint hint of lavender came back and it seemed to have more of an effect on Eren, because his friend relaxed and took a deep breath. “A certain type of magic can help to calm, though it can do other things as well.”

Once more, Armin’s fingers itched to grab a piece of paper and a pencil, but he tempered the desire. If things went well, he’d have an entire lifetime to study them.

He still wanted that magnifying glass, though. Levi was just so _tiny_ , it was hard to really get a good look at him. Maybe he could convince Eren to step under one, Armin mused.

“Eren, do you glow as well?”

They shared a certain look and then Levi nodded, though it was a bit hesitant, almost like Levi didn’t want to tell him. Strange. Was it another secret, then?

“Among the different races of sprites, only a certain type can use magic. Among a rare few of those, they possess the ability to harness a different type of magic; we call them the Touched,” Levi explained. “I fall into both categories. Because of that and the bond we share, Eren can access a certain type of magic as well, but only if he’s in contact with me and only under if one of us is in danger.”

Levi’s wings waved slowly as Armin peered at him. He looked remarkably unruffled by having a giant face so close to him, but, then again, he’d probably already experienced it with Eren when his friend had been human. That, and Levi just looked like a very calm, unflappable type of person overall.

…God there were going to be so many puns to be made. Armin could practically _taste_ them now.

“What are your wings made of?” Armin asked, keeping his voice quiet. Levi helpfully spread them and stretched the left two out, curling the top once back a bit for Armin to better see. There looked to be a small, lighter line near the tip of his darker topmost wing.

An injury, most likely, Armin thought. Levi didn’t look bothered by it, but Eren looked at it with a sort of melancholy that made him think there was a story behind it. “They look so much like a butterfly’s in term of shape and shine, but the way you move them makes me think they’re something else.”

“They’re skin,” Levi answered. “We have delicate muscles that run through them and allow for more flexibility.”

“Fascinating,” Armin breathed before drawing his head away. Levi was starting to look a bit uncomfortable under the close scrutiny and Eren was getting a bit twitchy. “Thank you, Levi.”

The sprite nodded, closing his wings behind him. God, they were just so _small_ -

“Oh!” Armin suddenly exclaimed, remembering a recent find. “We found something on your table that I thought was strange, but, well,” he laughed, “I guess seeing you like this explains a _lot_ of things.” He stood to rummage through his bags for a second before he pulled out a small cloth bag.

As he came back over to the table, Armin opened it and pulled out a small scrap of cloth bundled up. Carefully, he placed it on the tip of his finger. It only spanned from the tip of his finger to the end of his first knuckle and was a bit wider, so he hoped that the sprites wouldn’t have too much trouble carrying it back.

It fell open, revealing what was inside as Armin brought his hand slowly closer to the sprites, not wanting to frighten them.

“Shit, I knew they’d be found,” Eren said, a bit wondering as he peered at them. “I’m glad you kept them.” He’d been wondering what would become of them and was pleased to see that Armin had kept them safe, if for no reason other than to try to figure out what had happened to him.

Armin held the two twin blades out delicately on a fingertip. “Considering Eren used to be a human, I’m guessing these are yours?” Armin asked, directing the question to the shorter of the sprites.

Levi’s eyes widened as he saw them and he made a strange trilling noise. Stepping forwards, Levi wrapped his fingers around the hilts and a distinctly pleased expression spread over his face as he lifted them, testing the heft.

“Can’t believe you kept these,” Levi murmured. He swung them a few times in a practiced motion before he looked back up to Armin. His face was a bit softer now, and Armin knew that this little gesture had finally gotten him into the sprite’s metaphorical ‘good book’. “Thanks,” Levi said, flicking his wings.

Arin beamed as Levi carefully put the blades back onto the cloth before wrapping them up plucking the bundle out of Armin’s fingers. He looked like he had no trouble lifting them, which pleased Armin.

The touch of Levi’s hand through the cloth thrilled Armin in a way; sprites were just so _tiny_ and otherworldly, so literally magical. He wanted to learn everything about these fascinating creatures and it just made him all the more determined to stay here and learn more about them.

It would be the biggest mistake of his life if he wasn’t able to come back to -

Oh, that’s right.

“Eren, I almost forgot to tell you; they’re calling this place Paradis,” Armin said, remembering the name the expedition had settled on. The lush forests, clear sky and constant warm temperature had sparked the idea, and now that he knew that sprites lived here, he thought it was the best possible name they could have picked.

“Paradis? As in ‘Paradise’?” Eren asked, tilting his head, mulling it over. He looked over at Levi, who was tucking the bundle underneath his arm carefully, and a fond smile split his face. Eren nodded, teal eyes softening as he looked over to his _asula_. “Yeah, that seems fitting.”

````

The day the boat carrying the band of expeditioners came and Grisha ate breakfast, dressed, and then strolled down to the docks along with a flock of others who came to welcome the adventurers home. Eren had been gone for nearly three months, and his house felt lonely and quiet without the bright presence of his son filling it. He was eager to welcome Eren home.

But Eren never came.

He watched as the expedition filed off of the boat, rushing forwards to give family members and friends greetings and hugs, waiting patiently for Eren to appear.

But as he watched, there was no tall, broad figure with brown hair that came off the boat. He looked around, wondering if he’d gotten lost in the crowd, but his heart sank as his search proved fruitless.

Where was Eren?

It was on the tip of his tongue to start calling out for Eren when there was a sudden tap on his shoulder. Turning, wondering if it was his son, he was instead greeted by a different sight.

“Dr. Jaeger?” A slim young man was standing in front of Grisha, peering at him curiously. “You are Grisha Jaeger, correct?”

Grisha blinked for a second, then looked down at the blonde with large, inquisitive blue eyes. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh good. Eren's description was correct. I’m Armin Arlert. I was on the expedition to Paradis with him and grew quite close to him as a friend. He gave me a letter to give you and wants you to know he’s perfectly alright.”

Know. Present tense. Eren was alive.

“Where is he?”

A strange expression crossed Armin’s delicate face. “Ah, he chose to stay on Paradis for personal reasons.”

“Your band left him alone in that country?” Grisha frowned.

Armin winced. “Ah, well…” he sighed and pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. On the front, in Eren's slightly messy writing, ‘To: Father’ was written. “As I’ve said, I have a letter, but why he chose to stay… well, do you mind if we speak privately at your house?”

````

_Dear Father,_

_I hope this letter reaches you well. I know you were expecting me to be home, and I’m sorry that you were waiting at the docks for a son that wasn’t there. I’m sorry to have worried you. I want you to know above all things, that I am well, and that you shouldn’t worry._

_I wish I could tell you everything, but I can’t say too much in this letter. I don’t want to risk someone reading it and finding out something that would put the inhabitants of this land at risk._

_I hope Armin found you easily. He’s one of the only humans I trust, and I asked him to speak with you after he gave you this letter. I know that you’re retiring soon, and considering I won’t be coming back to England, I want you to come live with us._

_I know it’s not what you were expecting when you got the notification telling you we would be arriving back soon, but things happened quickly here and Armin was the only way I could get word out._

_I am staying here in this new country. There are certain commitments I’ve made and unfortunately, I won’t be able to return to England. Ever._

_We’ve invited Armin is returning here after he settles his affairs in London and purchases supplies. There is much to research and explore in this new place, and he wants to devote his time to doing so. He says he wants to keep me company as well, but, uh, I have a lot of company now._

_I know after mom died that you blamed yourself. I know you wanted me to take over your clinic, but I won’t be able to anymore. Given the circumstances, I can’t stand the thought of you alone in England. I miss you and I don’t want you to be alone, so I want you to come here. Not only is it beautiful and lush, but the skies are clear and the weather is warm. I spend a lot of time on the beach, watching the sunset over the waves. I know it was always our dream to see the ocean, and someday, I’d like to share the sight with you._

_There are also some people I want you to meet, who know about you and would love to meet you._

_No matter your decision, there is one important thing: please, you must not tell anyone that there are living inhabitants in this country. The report from the expedition says otherwise, and those living here would be in danger if the world found out about them. They love this land and have no desire to be exposed or studied._

_I miss you, father, and I truly hope to see you soon._

_Love,_

_Eren Jaeger_

_P.S. – We could use a doctor here. There’s one person with medical training but we lack your medical equipment. I think she would love to talk to you about recent medical advances._

_P.P.S- I forgot to mention, the report from the expedition may mention my death, which is obviously not true, so please don’t be upset._

````

Grisha set the letter aside, staring blankly into the fire as he processed the words. The letter was vague in some respects, confusing in others, but it was very clearly written by an alive and well Eren.

As far as he knew, Paradis was uninhabited, an unknown stretch of land that had barely started to be explored. Grisha himself had never been quite as adventurous as Eren, but…

“Armin,” he said, addressing the young man sitting opposite in the chair, sipping some tea. “Eren… is he safe?”

“Yes,” Armin said, a small smile playing at his lips. “He’s very safe and being well taken care of.”

Grisha pursed his lips. “But you can’t tell me who, exactly is taking care of him or how.”

“Unfortunately, no.”

He tapped his fingers along the chair, thinking. After Carla had died, he’d lost his passion for medicine, it was true. Treating chronically ill children sick from breathing in factory fumes and rich men with gout wasn’t why he’d become a doctor. He wanted to help people, but lately, all he’d been doing is going through the motions. As a younger man, he’d wanted to travel and help people all over, but after he met Carla, that dream had died and he’d settled down.

He didn’t regret marrying her and having Eren a single bit, but now, he wished he’d pushed harder for them to travel, to get out of England. He considered Eren’s offer, brows furrowing.

“Whoever Eren is staying with… are they… advanced?”

Armin’s head tilted as he pondered the question. “Technology-wise? Somewhat so. They don’t have electricity or automation as we do, but their culture is very simplistic and they don’t need much to live happily.” Never mind the absolute ingenuity of sprites and their useful magic.

Grisha hummed. A life without the constant humming of electricity, the smog from factories and exhaust from loud, rattling cars…

_Not only is it beautiful and lush, but the skies are clear and the weather is warm. I spend a lot of time on the beach, watching the sunset over the waves._

“And… how is their medical knowledge?”

Armin paused for a moment before he hid another smile behind his cup.

Grisha was staring deeply into the fire, his brows furrowed as he thought. He knew where this was leading and played along, enjoying their exchange. Even as they talked, however, he began adding to his mental list of supplies.

He knew the Jaegers were well-off, and Armin himself had a hefty inheritance and had liquidated some of his assets to have more money for supplies. He didn’t know how long he’d be gone, but Armin hoped it was a long, long time. Besides the new discovery of the sprites he so desperately wanted to study, there was something within Paradis that called to him; he enjoyed the beauty of the land, the warm sunlight and salty ocean breeze, the clean air and lack of people.

And he knew that the thought was appealing to Grisha as well.

“Their medical knowledge is quite good, but they lack the knowledge of a professional who is trained in advanced matters, I would say.”

Grisha gave a contemplative hum and they sat in silence for awhile.

“When are you leaving?”

“I’d say it will take another month to finish selling off some of my grandfather’s land and for the supplies I’ve ordered to arrive. I don’t need very much, and Paradis is a very fertile land with abundant resources, so I’m only bringing what I wouldn’t be able to find there, along with some new research equipment. Mostly dishes, cooking utensils, clothes, tools, that sort of thing.”

“A month, hm?” Grisha murmured before sitting back and crossing his legs. “That should be enough time to find someone to take over the clinic and sell my house.”

Armin paused before he smiled warmly. “You’re coming along, then, sir?”

“I’ve always wanted to retire someplace warm and quiet,” Grisha told him, a small smile curling his lips. “It will be good to help those who actually need it, rather than only those who can pay. Besides, I think having an extra pair of hands would be helpful and allow you to focus on your research more effectively,” he said, rising to his feet.

Armin set his cup aside and grinned, standing up and reaching out to shake the proffered hand. There was a light in Grisha’s eyes that hadn’t been there when Armin first located the man. A life of constant depression and hard work had lined his face with deep wrinkles and bowed his shoulders, but when he shook Armin’s hand in an unspoken thanks and agreement, Eren's father seemed younger, lighter.

“Consider me your new assistant, if you would like,” Grisha said, a light sparking within his eyes.

“I would appreciate all the help I can get, sir,” Armin said happily. “I’ll come by again tomorrow and we can discuss the details of our little expedition further. Congratulations on your retirement, Mr. Jaeger.”

“Please,” Eren's father said, smile widening, “if we’re going to be working together, please call me Grisha.”

````

“Do you think he’s going to come?”

Levi’s divination skills couldn’t predict the future, but sometimes he had odd, vague dreams that were prophetic, just as his mother had described her own had sometimes been. They were difficult to decipher sometimes, but Hanji and Erwin were of great help when it came to such things.

His newly-awakened Startouch abilities were beginning to grow stronger and recently, he’d had an occasional recurring dream that made him confident that yes, Grisha Jaeger was on the ship his Scouts had spotted earlier today. He’d stationed a patrol along the beach for the past month in order to keep watch for the ship Eren was looking for.

“I think it’s very possible,” Levi said vaguely. He didn’t want to get Eren’s hopes up; not when he could sense them so strongly through their bond.

Eren glanced over at him, eyes narrowing as if trying to decipher his words.

Levi was beside him, leaving against the plant’s stem, arms folded and ankles crossed. His pupils were small and he had to squint because of the bright daylight, but he’d been adamant to not wait until night to meet Eren's father.

 _“He’ll be able to see us better in the daylight,”_ Levi had said. “ _It’s what’s most natural for him, and it will make things easier. Besides, I’d rather not use magic and have to conjure light in front of him until he comes to terms with everything.”_

He was nervous, too, Eren could tell. A sharp canine kept nibbling at a plush bottom lip and Eren had to resist the urge to kiss him. Eren could see more easily during the day, and despite being a creature of the night, Levi still looked absolutely gorgeous in the daylight.

His inky-black hair shone in the light and his pale grey eyes looked almost like smokey quartz when the light hit them right. His pale skin seemed to glow slightly, and the black bonding marks on either side of his neck stood out starkly, making a swell of possessiveness rise within Eren. He’d known Levi for a few months now, and Eren never got tired of staring at the omega.

Grisha knew of his inclinations towards men, and while he supported Eren, he’d been the one to pull him aside when he was a teen and had found Eren kissing a messenger boy.

 _“Not everyone is as understanding as I regarding homosexuality,”_ Grisha had said gently, giving Eren a gentle hug before pulling away. _“Until you find somewhere where it is accepted, you must keep your inclinations hidden for your own sake.”_

He knew that Grisha would have no problem with Levi because he was a man; he just hoped that Grisha approved of Levi as a _person_. And sprite.

A sudden loud call jerked them both to attention and Eren peered over a leaf. Before Armin had departed with the rest of the expedition, they’d agreed on this clearing next to the beach to meet on the chance that his father would come.

And he had.

“Dad,” Eren breathed, seeing the taller figure of an older man walking next to Armin, both laden with heavy packs and suitcases. The blonde was chattering excitedly, hands waving wildly as Grisha leaned down slightly, listening to Armin talk with a patient, fond expression on his face.

His father looked younger, better than he had in years. The couple of weeks spent crossing the ocean by ship had done wonders for his complexion; his wrinkles looked deeper, but his skin had a healthy, sun-kissed glow to it, and his shoulders were straight and confident in a way that Eren had never seen.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Levi asked beside him, feeling the alpha’s mixed joy, excitement and nervousness seeping through their bond. Almost unconsciously, Levi called up his Earth magic and sent soothing pulses through their link in an effort to help ease some of Eren's tension.

It helped slightly and the alpha relaxed and threw a grateful look at Levi. God, he _was_ nervous. Considering Eren had been human when his father saw him last…

Seeing his son with wings, horns, marks running all over his body and now merely the size of his palm was bound to be at least _mildly_ shocking.

“Yeah,” Eren nodded, taking a deep breath. His father hadn’t just discarded his letter; he was _here_. He wanted to see Eren, and Grisha had always been kind and understanding. It might take a bit for it to sink in, but Eren knew his father would accept it, would still love him.

“Eren? Levi? Are you here?” Armin called. Eren looked at Levi and nodded. The omega took a deep breath and sighed, raking a hand through his hair. He was nervous himself; not only was he meeting Eren's father, but Eren had changed so much… would Grisha recognize Eren, or would he be angry?

Still, it was what Eren wanted, and so with more than a bit of anxiety, Levi called up his Moon magic and with a wave of his hand, the glamour around them was dispelled. Eren grinned and then tilted his head back to let out a loud, sharp trill followed by three chirps.

Both humans paused at the sound and then Armin nodded in their direction before turning to Grisha. Faintly, Eren could hear Armin talking to Grisha. “This might be a bit weird at first, but I promise, it really is Eren. I’ll let him tell you the story once everything is settled.”

His father looked a bit confused and a bit nervous, but mostly intrigued. “Alright. Don’t worry, no matter what, I’ll listen.”

Eren's heart soared at that and he jumped into the air, hovering for a moment before looking back to Levi. The omega’s face looked bored, impassive, and devoid of any emotion, and that was how Eren knew he was nervous. He retreated inside that mask whenever he was unsure of something; Eren offered an encouraging smile, reaching out along their bond to brush against Levi’s presence soothingly.

“C’mon,” Eren said softly. “It’s just my dad. He’ll love you.”

Levi still looked hesitant, but he knew how much Eren wanted this and couldn’t deny his _asula_ from reuniting with his father. With a small huff, Levi unfolded his arms and flicked his wings once before jumping up to hover with Eren. Eren beamed and then turned and flew out of the bush they’d been situated in, with Levi following warily behind.

“There they are,” Armin said to Grisha, pointing at the small insects flitting over to them.

Grisha frowned. “Is this some sort… of…”

His sentence trailed off as the two insects flitted closer, and Grisha saw that they looked distinctly humanoid in shape.

He blinked and then suddenly, they were in front of him, hovering a few feet away at eye level. One of them was smaller, with black hair and black wings, and the other was…

Grisha’s mind stuttered to a stop, because the other creature was _Eren_. The wings, horns, and black marks streaking across his skin were obviously new, but unmistakably, it was Eren.

Armin leaned over and whispered, “It’s alright. I thought I was going crazy when Eren first showed up like this. It’s a long story, but the most important thing is that he’s happy as a sprite now.”

 _A sprite?_ Like the small, winged creatures from children’s fairy tales?

“Dad,” Eren beamed, a bit oblivious to his father staring at him in shock. “You came! We didn’t know when you would get here, but the Scout patrols saw a boat earlier today. I knew you’d come!”

Eren's voice was smaller than he was used to; it didn’t carry and boom like he was used to, but it was unmistakably his son’s deep tenor, still carrying the same youthful exuberance.

“Eren,” the black-winged fairy spoke, and Grisha had to strain his ears to hear it, because the sprite spoke very quietly. His voice was deeper than Grisha would have expected, but the sound was very calming.

It had a soothing effect on Eren, because his son stopped flitting around and after a quick glance back at the smaller sprite, he seemed to calm down quite a bit.

“Ah, sorry,” Eren said, coming a bit closer. “I forgot how shocking this can be, considering Armin and I have grown used to it. Dad, it’s me. I promise.”

“Eren?” Grisha breathed, and Eren smiled and nodded. “How… I don’t…”

Eren rubbed a hand on the back of his neck; a gesture Grisha recognized. He used it whenever he was nervous or anxious and it was so Eren-like that the older man relaxed somewhat. Though he looked vastly different, (was apparently a different species now, even) his son was alive and well and right here in front of him.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Eren chuckled. “I don’t mind telling you, but we should maybe sit down if you want the long version. Suffice to say, I stumbled across a sprite, something happened and I was turned into one, and now… I’m living with them.”

Grisha just blinked, still trying to take it all in. Eren peered at him. “Hey, dad,” he said more softly. “I promise, it’s me. Here, hold out your hand, palm-up.”

A bit apprehensively, Grisha did, and though it trembled slightly, the two sprites descended and hovered over his palm for a second before closing their wings back, dropping onto his palm gracefully. He was so afraid it had all been a trick of some sort, but…

He could _feel_ their weight in his palm. It was light, but… it was there. It was tangible.

Eren shifted a bit, and he could feel his son’s small, booted feet pressing into his skin. The other sprite stood back with his arms folded, still looking a bit apprehensive; Grisha couldn’t blame him, though.

He kind of felt the same way.

“You’re real,” Grisha breathed, bringing his face a bit closer to the two. “Eren, that’s really you?”

Eren nodded. This close, he could see a small charm hanging from his left horn, though it was hard to see exactly what it was. The other sprite also had a charm on his horn, Grisha saw.

“May I…?” Grisha asked tentatively, holding his other hand up close to Eren.

“Yeah, go ahead. I don’t mind,” Eren said and very, very gently, Grisha placed a tentative fingertip on the top of Eren's head. His horns were two sharp points against his finger and in amazement, he lifted his hand and then softly touched Eren's shoulders, then ran a finger along his wings, as if confirming what he was seeing.

Eren was very real and solid underneath his finger and Grisha blinked, then cleared his throat. “I don’t… _quite_ understand, but… you are alright? You’re happy?”

Eren smiled. “Very much so.” His smile faltered a bit, and a bit more subdued, he said, “This is why I couldn’t write too much in my letter. If anyone found out that sprites were real, they’d want to come study or take them away. It had to be kept a secret.”

That much, Grisha understood. Eren was a kind, empathetic young man; he wanted to keep the sprites safe and also protect himself and…

His eyes were drawn to the silent, dark-haired sprite standing next to Eren. He looked remarkably at ease on Grisha’s palm, and he had to wonder if he’d been in this situation before.

_There are certain commitments I’ve made._

_I have a lot of company now._

_I stumbled across a sprite._

A hypothesis started to form in his mind and he looked at the little sprite more closely. He stood just behind Eren, but it didn’t look like he was trying to hide; in fact, it looked almost like Eren was keeping himself slightly in front of him, unconsciously diverting attention away from his companion.

Almost like he was protecting him.

Eren had always possessed insane protective instincts when it came to those he cared about.

And Armin had said “Eren and Levi are here” earlier, speaking about them as if they were a package deal, and things fell into place. Grisha had to fight back a small smile. He’d once told his son to keep his gay inclinations hidden until he found a place where they were accepted, and trust the boy to do just that.

As if sensing Grisha’s curiosity, the black-winged sprite shifted slightly and Eren turned back to look at him. They seemed to have a momentarily silent conversation and then Eren turned back around and smiled, a fond look on his face.

“Dad, I want you to meet Levi.” He gestured at the small sprite and Grisha took a moment to look closer. The dark, inky-black wings shone in the sunlight, though Grisha saw hints of grey and maybe silver in the wings. They flicked suddenly and – that was interesting, instead of two wings like Eren, this one had four. They were very pretty as well, and felt warm from absorbing the sunlight when they brushed over his slightly curled fingers.

Like Eren, he had black markings trailing over his skin and adorning his face, standing out starkly against the pale skin, and Grisha got the feeling they weren’t tattoos. He bent a bit closer and the sprite tilted his head almost curiously, staring back in return. The twin marks on his neck, they looked exactly like the ones on Eren's face, and Eren's looked like the tear-like ones on Levi’s.

Strange. Maybe they _were_ tattoos?

“The sprite term is a bit different, but for all intents and purposes, Levi is my husband.” Eren beamed brightly at that, obviously extremely proud and Grisha could tell that he was deeply in love with the other sprite. It made his heart swell at Eren's obvious happiness.

As if sensing his thoughts, Levi cleared his throat and flicked his wings in a gesture that looked almost like embarrassment. His face was inscrutable, but Grisha got the feeling that was just how Levi normally looked.

Well, Eren had always gone for the strong, pretty, silent type, Grisha thought with a trace of amusement underneath his lingering shock.

The way Grisha was looking at Levi was somewhat familiar. Eren didn’t share many features with his father, but the wide-eyed amazement that slowly transformed into curiosity was just as much Eren's as it was Grisha’s.

Levi wracked his mind for how to say hello, trying to remember what Eren had told him about human culture. Eren's eyes flicked over to him and through the bond, he could sense Eren was practically pushing one of his memories to the front of his mind and over to Levi.

They didn’t have horns or the slightly spiritual link that all sprites shared, so…

A bit hesitantly, Levi thrust his hand out, a bit unsure how to do a “handshake.”

Grisha looked a bit taken aback, and before Levi could lose his nerve, he introduced himself.

“Welcome to Paradis, Grisha Jaeger. I am Levi Ackerman, Startouched omega of the Moonglow Ackerman family and Eren Jaeger’s bonded _asula_ ,” he said, voice a bit stiff, unfamiliar with the formal introduction, and he bowed his head slightly. “It is good to meet you. The Rose Sunlight community welcomes you with open arms.”

He held back on using the glamour on Grisha as he spoke the welcoming phrase, accepting Grisha into the community. Erwin had granted him permission to act as his proxy after requesting permission to do so. It had taken some time to convince Erwin to allow the two humans to see the community, but Levi’s Startouch senses could tell that Grisha was a trustworthy person, and as for Armin, well, Erwin had obviously grown quite fond of the blonde human in the time he spent around the community before he had to return temporarily across the sea.

Grisha’s eyes were wide in wonder as Levi stared into his brown eyes. He looked slightly stunned as his gaze flicked between a brightly smiling, proud Eren and Levi. Levi’s brows furrowed, wondering if he had the handshake wrong and was just about to lower it when Grisha spoke.

“I…” Grisha’s voice cracked in amazement before he cleared his throat and tried again. “Levi,” he said, lowering his voice instinctively with the small creature so close. Slowly, he raised his other hand once more and held out a finger, pressing it against the sprite’s hand. Levi eyed it for a second before closing his fingers around as much of it as he could it and shaking it firmly.

Grisha’s face split into a bright smile as the sprite shook his hand and he chuckled. It was finally sinking in, and, well, he was astounded at getting to meet a creature he’d thought wasn’t even real, much less his son’s husband.

“It’s good to meet you as well, Levi.” The sprite blinked clear grey eyes and as his wings flicked, a small smile turned the corners of his lips up. “I apologize for my rude staring,” the human chuckled. “I suppose I’m still just a bit amazed.”

“Eren was the same way,” Levi told him, releasing Grisha’s finger. There was a note of relief in his vice. He looked much more relaxed now, wings unconsciously waving and curling a bit as he spoke. “Except he flung me into a tree when we first met. I greatly appreciate your calmness.”

“Oh?” Grisha said, turning a concerned eye to Eren, who winced a bit.

“He turned me into a sprite, so I think we got even in the end,” Eren laughed, though he narrowed his eyes playfully at Levi. “That was a strange adjustment period.”

Levi rolled his eyes and it made Grisha happy to see Eren so content. He looked natural, like he was in his element, and made Grisha realize just how empty and purposeless Eren's life (and his own, Grisha realized) back in England had been.

“So, this is the commitment you spoke of in your letter?” Grisha asked

“Yeah,” Eren said, shooting a fond look at Levi. “We were bond- ah, ‘married’ not long before the expedition returned. Sprites do it much differently, given their other, uh… they’re quite a bit different from humans, to say the least. I can tell you more about it later, but I wanted to incorporate a bit of my former culture into it, so…” Eren reached up to brush his hand over the charm on his horn. With a flick of his fingers, he popped it open and then held it up for Grisha to see.

Looking closer, he could see that it was a wide, thin gold band with a small moon opal set into a ring of gold. “Rather than rings that could get lost when flying, we settled on charms. There are a few different races of sprites,” so that was why he and Levi looked so different, Grisha thought, “so we have the gemstones attuned to each other’s races set into them.”

Grisha’s eyes widened and a pleased smile overtook his face as he realized what Eren had done. His own wedding band with the aquamarine remained on his hand, and Carla’s own was packed away safely in his bags.

Levi placed a hand on Eren's shoulder, and for the first time, Grisha could see just how disparate the height difference was.

 _Short,_ Grisha thought with some amusement.

The top of his son’s husband’s head barely reached the top of Eren's shoulder.

As if sensing his thoughts, Eren chuckled and Levi quirked a brow at Grisha before sighing.

“By the Moon, you two think exactly alike,” Levi grumbled, and Eren gave a short trilling sound that seemed very amused. Levi fixed an unamused look at Eren, and that strange sort of silent conversation seemed to take place again, because Eren winced a bit.

“I’ll leave you two to catch up. I think Armin wants to hear about how the community has been.” He looked up at Grisha and inclined his head. “I’m glad you decided to come, Grisha. Once we get you and Armin settled, I’m more than happy to tell you more about us and our culture, as well as answer any questions you have. If Eren is anything like you, which it appears he is, I know you’ll have plenty.”

Grisha smiled warmly at the little sprite and held out his finger again. “I’d like that very much, Levi. Thank you.” This time, Levi was a bit more confident as he reached out to shake Grisha’s finger. Then, with a flick of his wings he was hovering in the air, four wings beating rapidly as he flitted over to Armin.

The blonde beamed and held out a hand for Levi to drop down onto. He folded his arms and Armin bent down to say a quiet hello to Levi.

And Armin had some news to share as well. He could barely hide his excitement, but reminded himself to keep his voice quiet so as to not hurt the sprite’s ears.

“I’ve come to a deal with the environmental sector of the government,” he said quietly, though his blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I don’t know what that means, Armin,” Levi reminded him patiently. Once Armin had gotten over his initial shock and Levi over his wariness, they’d struck up a sense of camaraderie. Levi appreciated the attention to detail and how he’d come to understand and respect sprites and their culture so quickly.

“You don’t have to. Just… I gave them the reports from the expedition,” Armin said, a smile overtaking his features. “I said that there was a rare species of ‘insect’ here that were so small number that they were on the verge of going extinct. As long as I study them and make monthly reports about it, they’re making the island a nature reserve.”

Levi flicked his wings in confusion. “Meaning?”

“It’s government-protected land. Humans won’t be able to set foot on it unless they have government approval, and it’s very, very hard to get that. I mentioned that that this species of insect were delicate, and the presence of humans would only disrupt their habits and lead to their extinction.” Armin’s eyes were bright as he finally boiled it down. “You don’t have to worry about humans coming here for a very long time.”

Levi’s brow quirked. “You’re going to have to lie in those reports, you know,” Levi pointed out.

Armin was a very truthful individual and valued knowledge above all. Levi knew it had rankled him not to be able to tell the truth about sprites or share the discovery with the world.

“I know,” Armin said, nodding. “But I think your preservation and well-being comes above all else.”

Levi blinked and then a small hint of a smile turned his lips up. “I think I like you, Armin.”

“As of right now, Grisha and I are the only ones approved to set foot onto the island - at least until the ‘insect’ population increases, and that won’t happen for a long time,” Armin said, laughing slightly and winking. “So, I would hope so, since you’re going to deal with me for quite awhile.”

````

“So,” Grisha said, tugging Eren's attention away from where he was staring adoringly over at Levi, “I have to ask. Are you… this is permanent?”

“Yeah,” Eren nodded, spreading his wings to jump into the air and hovering more at Grisha’s eye level. “It’s a long story, but… you are staying, right?”

“I figured I’ve worked enough to justify an early retirement,” Grisha told him with a fond smile. “Your letter made Paradis sound like the perfect place to move to, and I tired of England’s dreariness.” Grisha looked around, taking in the bright blue sky, the smell of the salty ocean and hint of lavender the air carried, the quiet chirps that emanated from the forest. Eren had been right; it was a beautiful, calm place, blanketed with lush forest. “This is a lovely place to spend the rest of my life.”

“I’m glad you’re here, Dad,” Eren said, smiling, but it dimmed for a moment. “You’re really okay with…” Eren gestured at himself, then over to Levi, “With all of _this_?”

“Just because you’re the size of my palm doesn’t mean you’re not my son,” Grisha said gently. “I’m still quite shocked and somewhat confused, but the most important thing to me is that you and Levi both look happy.”

Eren stared at him for a moment before he beamed and let out a happy trill.

“Now, why don’t you three show me where the cottage is to be built?” Grisha said, shifting the pack on his back slightly. It was beginning to get heavy, an obvious reminder that he was no longer as young and fit as he used to be. “Armin said he found a nice spot near your… community? To make a home at, and you can tell me your story and more about Levi while we walk.” His brown eyes went over to the small sprite, who was gesturing as he talked with Armin. “He seems very nice.”

“He is. We should get out of the sunlight, though. I think it’s starting to give him a headache.” Eren looked back at the dark shade of the forest. “Levi is a race of sprite called the Moonglow. They’re nocturnal and while he has excellent night vision, bright light hurts his eyes and he’s really susceptible to sunburn.”

Grisha hummed thoughtfully at that, and with a quick glance back, Levi took off into the air. He hovered for a moment before he chirped to Eren and then flitted off into the forest, Armin following with a laugh.

“I see. Shall we go, then?” Grisha asked, gesturing at the two disappearing figures. “We can get him somewhere more comfortable. You can tell me more about him and what you’ve been up to while we walk.”

“Yeah!” Eren exclaimed, darting forwards a bit before swooping back to wait for Grisha to pick up his suitcaseand follow. The man could only shake his head in amazement.

His son was a sprite and practically married now.

Sprites _existed_ , and he was quite curious to see more of them.

A bright light came from ahead and as Grisha peered into the forest, he was shocked to see that it was coming from Levi. The sprite was glowing, pulsing with a strange light and Eren laughed at the look on Grisha’s face.

“Ah, I forgot to mention. The Rose community is… it requires something special to be able to see it,” Eren told him, gazing at Levi for a moment before turning to flit around his father and drop down onto his shoulder. “How do you feel about magic?”

All things considering…

Grisha just chuckled and stepped into the cool shade of the forest. “I think I’ll feel just fine about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inb4 Eren has to explain "yeah, I had to fuck my in-heat husband in order to marry him" wow that's gonna be awkward, buddy
> 
> Press F to pay respect to Eren's dignity. 
> 
> To everyone that’s commented (yeah, you know who you are, u r all awesome) and left kudos, thank you 😊 Your feedback fueled me to write and get these mf long chapters out. We’ve reached the end of the main story, but I have a few other ideas for short additions to this universe. 
> 
> I’m going to take a break from long fics for a bit and focus on trying to finish up some one-shots for Moonstruck and this one, so keep an eye out.
> 
> ....Unless, you know, I decide to watch another cartoon and get inspired to horribly desecrate my childhood memories. I've been feeling The Little Mermaid lately, hm.


End file.
